Gauntlet
by mmhope22
Summary: There are heroes and there are villains - and then there's everybody else. Parker Morgan was perfectly content to be just another face in the crowd, but when she finds herself pushed into a world of monsters and magic, she isn't given much of an option. The battle for the Universe is coming. And the enemy already has the upper hand. Loki/OC. Takes place after Thor: The Dark World.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own only my OC's, roughly everything else in this story belongs to Marvel. **

***This story takes place after Thor: The Dark World and will contain spoilers. **

****Rated M for language, violence, and future explicit content. **

* * *

Some of us are born to be heroes – others, to be villains – and then there are the rest of us. Those of us who merely exist, floating through our lives not really swaying the balance too much one way or the other. Don't get me wrong - there is something wonderful about being able to blend in, to be another face in the crowd – it is akin to being handed the gift of choice. To choose a quiet, peaceful life or to not.

It was not a gift that I was given.

No, the gifts that I received came to me courtesy of my father, Brael. In the beginning, the signs were subtle, so much so that I hadn't really taken much notice of them at the time – loud-mouthed customers coming through my checkout lane at work abruptly breaking out into coughing fits, random items casually falling off of the shelves by themselves, and so on and so forth. As time went on though, these happenings became much more pronounced, almost violent at times, and it became hard to ignore the correlation between my mood and these events. I could no longer pass it off as coincidence when one night, after a particularly frustrating day, I inadvertently blew out every single light bulb in my apartment.

Now, my father had told me fantastic stories growing up about Asgard and the gods and goddesses who lived there, but he had deliberately failed to mention that for thousands of years, he too resided there as one of those deities, so when I began to piece together that I had developed some kind of abilities, I initially assumed that I was, for lack of a better term, a mutant. I brought the subject up one evening while having dinner at my parent's house and suggested that maybe I should look into an institute in New York called Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters that was alleged to work specifically with people with _special_ talents. It was hard enough to even bring the topic up for fear that my parent's would think that I'm stupid, so when my father just kind of chuckled at the notion, I didn't know quite how to feel. Anger was up there though. Before I had the opportunity to really blow a fuse however, my father apologized for his reaction and claimed that he knew what I was experiencing and why. He did, of course, and he went on to describe to me all the truths in the stories he had told me as a child; he explained to me how Earth is far from the only planet in the universe to harbor intelligent life and how there are beings out there far stronger and faster than any human that can control and manipulate magic. All of a sudden, I was being told that gods and monsters and magic were all real things, and that I was a part of that – that I was not even completely _human_. To prove his point, my father conjured a small, blue flame that sat in the palm of his hand, extinguishing it with a quick snap of his fingers – there was no arguing with that. Thinking back on it now that was a modest trick for him, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but at the time I remember being absolutely mesmerized. It was magic. _Real _magic.

My father continued on to explain that he had been a close friend and Advisor to the king of Asgard, Odin Allfather, but that one day, on a visit to Earth, he met my mother. They fell in love, but Odin fervently condemned the relationship and insisted my father put an end to it – when my father refused, he was banished from Asgard. He presumed that Odin had likely portrayed him as a traitor or had otherwise made a mockery of him to the Asgardian people, and as such, when the events took place in New Mexico and again in New York, my father had us on lock down for the duration of those happenings, in order to ensure our well-being. I didn't understand why at the time, but I could see then that it was to elude any potential conflicts that could arise between himself and the sons of Odin, should their father have painted an unfavorable picture of him. In spite of the fact that we were not involved in these events, an organization that called itself S.H.I.E.L.D deemed it appropriate to question my parent's and I about them on a couple occasions – my father having been on their radar approximately since he had taken up residency on Earth. Fortunately, that's the closest to being involved in anything as we got and the rest of the time, S.H.I.E.L.D seemed perfectly content to leave us be.

It was a tough pill to swallow though, learning what I truly was. It certainly landed me with many more questions than what my father or I had answers; will I have the longevity of an Asgardian or will I live the short, sweet life of a human? Will my powers continue to grow – more importantly, will I be able to control them? That night, as I tossed and turned at home in bed, I found my mind flooded with all of these things that I did not know, trying to process and accept my situation, but it was just so overwhelming. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that I would be human, even if I wasn't really. I decided that I was simply going to push that part of myself down and pretend that there was nothing unusual about me at all, praying to the powers that be that my abilities would not grow and to grant me the strength to control my temper. It took about a year, but finally everything began to feel _normal_ again. The voice in the back of my head that would remind me of my true self had become much easier to ignore and at long last I was starting to have friends again – to have an ordinary life.

And that's when they decided to show up.

* * *

"Hey – what the hell do you think you're doing'?" I barked as I staggered into my small apartment, struggling to push the door closed as I held numerous bags of groceries in my arms. I had come home to find my furry, orange feline friend, Darwin, exploring the contents of the kitchen table - as he often liked to do when I wasn't there to stop him. He certainly was a mischievous little shit.

Dropping the heavy, plastic bags to the floor with a loud _**thud**_, I crossed the room to scoop the cat up into my arms.

"_Meow."_

"Don't need your sass, young man. You know better." I mumbled into his fur as I planted a small kiss on the top of his head, setting him down onto the floor after a moment when he became restless. I was indeed starting to make friends again, but I can say with confidence that Darwin was still hands down the best one that I had. I could blow up the microwave and Darwin would only be startled by the noise, not the fact that I had done it with magic. He would still want to curl up on my lap later while I watch TV and take a nap, but humans on the other hand, I'm not so sure they wouldn't run away screaming – and who needs that?

I squatted down, taking various items out of the grocery bags and began putting them in their appropriate place. No sooner had I set the last can of green beans in the cupboard, there came a knock on the front door. In hindsight, perhaps I should have taken the second to look through the peep-hole to see who it was that I was inviting into my life, but I did not.

I pulled the door open to find a tall, thin woman with dark hair and eyes to match standing in front of me, her hair pulled back with only short bangs swept off to the side. She sported a black outfit with a familiar insignia etched into it.

"Uhm, hi there… Is there something I can help you with?"

"Depends. Are you Parker Morgan?" The woman asked tersely.

"I am. Why? Is something wrong?"

She shot a look down the hall and nodded. She had back up – great.

"I'm going to have to request that you come with me. We have some questions that we'd like to ask." The woman explained, motioning for me to step out of the apartment.

Yes. I had definitely dealt with these people before.

"S.H.I.E.L.D?" It was more of a statement than a question.

She did not answer, but then again, she really didn't have to.

* * *

**A/N: These first few chapters are going to mainly be set-up chapters, they are going to lay out the very basics for the background for our OC and the plot of the story, etc. They may not be overly exciting but to me, they're necessary. Thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it, and please if you feel so inclined, leave a **_**Review**_**, they are very much appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

I found myself sandwiched in between two men in sleek black suits as the female agent drove us to the interrogation site, which took roughly half an hour. Half an hour of this intense, awkward silence. When we arrived, I stepped out into the crisp spring air to see a dilapidated hotel nearly ten feet in front of me – one of the many derelict buildings that besieged the city of Detroit. It had been beautiful once, I'm sure, but now here it stood, with chunks of wall missing, windows broken out – it had been a very long time since anyone had cared for this place and considering the extensive damage, the fact that it was still standing was fairly remarkable.

I followed the lady inside of the building; the two men, in turn, watchfully trailed behind me. We passed through what I imagine was at one time the lobby, taking care to avoid the heaps of debris and shattered glass that had been scattered across the ground until the female agent stopped in front of a badly discolored, wooden staircase. The wood was splintered in places and the musty scent of decay hung thick in the air. She gestured for me to go up and despite my better judgment, I obeyed the order.

We came to a long, narrow hallway with a handful of rooms, and in the one straight ahead of me there was a silver table positioned in the center of the room, two chairs on either side, with a bald, dark skinned man occupying one of the seats. I had spoken with this man before on a couple occasions, and while I disliked S.H.I.E.L.D's questionings, I felt a touch more at ease upon seeing a familiar face, even if I didn't particularly care for him too much. I slowly stepped into the room, standing at the back of one of the chairs as the agents funneled in behind me – the two men taking their place in the corners of the rooms as the woman stepped around the table, handing over a file to her boss.

"Parker Morgan, sir." She said curtly, nodding towards me as her boss began thumbing through the file.

"Thank you, Agent Hill." He acknowledged before turning his eyes up to look upon my face. "Yes. We've met before, haven't we, Ms. Morgan?"

I nodded lightly. "Yes, Director Fury. A few times, actually."

He chuckled a little. "Usually that's not a good thing. So what was it? We spoke after New York, correct?"

"Correct. And after New Mexico."

His eyes narrowed a touch, but not in a hostile manner, rather like he was attempting to recall the memory. After a moment he nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes I do believe you're right." He began. "Well, I'm sure you're wondering why I had Agent Hill here bring you in today."

"I could take a guess." I remarked. It came out sounding much more ill-mannered than I had intended it to be, but to be candid I was rather annoyed. I had played this game with them already – they drag me out into the middle of nowhere, ask me a bunch of questions that I do not know the answers to, and then I go home. I could be there right now watching _How I Met Your Mother _reruns and hanging out with my cat but instead, there I was, about to play the least interesting game of twenty questions ever.

Again, Fury just chuckled. "I'm sure you could. Now if you would just take a seat, we can get right to it then, alright?" He gestured towards the chair in front of me.

I plopped down in the seat and waited for the questions to start coming.

"Ok, so I have here that we have already discussed the event in New Mexico as well as the incident that took place in New York and that you had no information about these events save for what was reported in the media after the fact. Is that correct?" He inquired, shifting his eyes from the file to me as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that is correct." I confirmed.

"Alright, well this past summer we had some things happen over at Greenwich. As you probably figured, there was some Asgardian involvement and for the sake of keeping the higher ups happy, we need to know if you can give us any insight on that or if you had any prior knowledge about what took place." He explained.

I shook my head. "No, sir. I know about as much as everybody else does. It looked like some kind of alien invasion, kind of like New York, but I do not and did not have any prior knowledge about it."

"As per usual." Fury jibed.

"I don't know what else you want me to say Director. My family and I…we just don't get involved. And we don't want to. We just want to be –"I began to explain.

"Left alone. I know, I know. It's just protocol, Ms. Morgan. You understand that."

"If your father is Asgardian, why wouldn't he come to Thor's aid?" Agent Hill piped in.

I was startled at first by her abrupt entrance into the conversation, but I took it in stride.

"Well..." I started, "my dad was exiled from Asgard after he told their king he wouldn't stop seeing my mother. It sounded like he was pretty upset about it, so on the off chance that maybe the king has instilled some…hostility in his people towards my father, we decided it was best to just stay away."

"Are you sure your father doesn't have something to hide?" I didn't like her tone.

"Watch it."

"Now, now." Fury intervened. "Agent Hill, Brael Morgan has been on our radar for years and has cooperated with every single investigation that we've asked him to. There is nothing there to suggest any threat."

Agent Hill made a quiet apology and Fury returned his attention to me.

"So you know nothing more than usual, correct?" He reiterated.

"Correct." It fell silent for a moment. "Is there anything else?" I asked.

"Nah, you can go." He sounded unsure, but I took him at his word anyway. I had just reached the threshold of the room when I heard him call to me.

"Actually – Wait, Ms. Morgan!"

I turned to face him again, raising my eyebrows quizzically.

"Have you ever heard of the Infinity Gauntlet?"


	3. Chapter 3

When I was a kid, I had this obnoxious habit of _never_ going to sleep until I had heard a story - it was like some bizarre offering that my parents had to give me in exchange for a peaceful night's sleep. My father would always tell me the best ones - tales filled with magic and adventure; it was only after I had found out who my dad really was that I realized that these stories were more autobiographical than fiction. I had long forgotten many of the tales that my father had told me, but those two words - "Infinity Gauntlet" - brought bits and pieces of them back to the surface.

I shook my head gently, turning to take a few steps forward towards Director Fury.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"What can you tell us?" Fury encouraged.

"Well," I started, clearing my throat, "my father used to tell me stories all the time and from what I can remember, the Infinity Gauntlet was a magical weapon. It had these slots for these six gems, and each of the gems controlled something different."

There was an uncomfortable silence for an instant; Fury just continued to look at me while Agent Hill jotted down a few notes.

"So there are six of these gems?" Fury repeated.

"As far as I know, yeah. I think there is one that controls minds –"Fury and Agent Hill exchanged a look as I continued. "– one that control power, another one for souls, space, time, and the last one…I think it controls reality." I explained.

Fury only nodded and peeked over at Agent Hill, who was still diligently writing down the information.

"Is there anything else?" Fury asked.

"No." I answered honestly. "I can't remember much of anything else about it except that my father said that it was one of the relics that is guarded inside of the weapons vault."

"The weapons vault? In Asgard?"

"Yeah." I confirmed. "Why?" I asked, detecting how anxious that appeared to make Fury.

"It's just that we have had an alarming lack of communication with Asgard since the situation at Greenwich." He confessed.

"I didn't know that S.H.I.E.L.D maintained contact with Asgard?"

"We don't." He replied. "But Thor has been staying in London since just after the incident and _he _has had no such luck."

I felt the color drain out of my face, my heart plummeting into the bottom of my gut. I realize that it was probably senseless to be afraid – surely a god would have bigger fish to fry – but even if this man had no ill will towards my me and my family, he nevertheless symbolized something that I desperately wanted to distance myself from.

"Thor is a good guy, Parker. You don't need to be afraid of him. Furthermore, he hasn't been made aware of your family's existence, so you can rest assured that he's not going to come knocking on your door."

I laughed softly. "I appreciate it."

"I know you do." He stood, tucking the file under his arm. "And if there's nothing else, you are free to go."

I stood, quickly shook the man's hand, and was escorted back to car by Agent Hill.

Before too long I found myself back in my apartment, now faintly lit by a lone floor lamp tucked into the corner of the living room. The sun had long since gone to bed and as badly as I wanted to follow suit, my mind was wide awake.

I dragged myself down the shadowy hallway and into the bathroom, shedding the layers of clothing off of my small frame. Turning on the hot water, I stepped into the shower and allowed the warmth to cascade over my weary body. It was comforting. My eyes drifted close for a mere second and instantaneously my mind was overrun with sporadic images. Brilliant amber eyes gazed back into my own, though I could not make out a face to go with them, I then found myself peering into what appeared to be a prison cell, although it was not typical of what you'd expect to see in human facilities. In the cell sat a grubby looking man - he gradually morphed into the form of a solemn older gentleman dressed in fine attire. I observed that over one of his eyes sat a distinctive golden patch. The following image showed the Allfather seated on the throne, but something about him was just...off. I don't know what it was, but I had this overwhelming feeling that there was something in the image that wasn't right, I just couldn't see what. The next image came - it was the Eye of London -it lingered there for a moment before a quick flash displayed another pair of eyes, again there was no discernable face to accompany them, and in place of the amber set were these haunting emerald orbs - with them came an unexplainable feeling of trepidation. And then it was over; my eyes snapped open as I gasped, stumbling backwards until I managed to catch myself, using the wall for support. There was a sharp pain left in my temples and my heart was throbbing inside of my chest.

I am not proud of what I did next. I hopped out of the shower and called my dad. I know it doesn't sound that bad but I'm an adult, you know? At twenty two years old, I feel silly calling my parents when I get frightened, which I will readily admit that I was. Those thoughts, those images, they did _not_ come from me. I felt like someone had just hacked my brain and I was utterly unprepared for it.

My father answered the phone, as late as it was, and everything came pouring out of my mouth in this unyielding jumble of words. I told him about the interrogation and what had happened in the shower, and although I'm sure that I sounded like a mad woman, he was able to make sense of what I was saying.

The line fell quiet for a few minutes before my father spoke.

"Parker, sweetheart, I think you ought to get to London."

"Yeah but dad, Thor is there _right now_."

"I know. That's why you have to go."

**A/N: OK, so now the story is going to start moving. Hurray! Again, I apologize if these set up chapters haven't been the greatest but we are getting there. I also apologize for how short this update is – I have a bad habit for writing small chapters anyway, but this one is extra-short. Yuck. Well, thank you for reading, and again, please leave a review **


	4. Chapter 4

I had this notion that traveling the world and seeing new places would be exhilarating and inspirational, and though I had come to the gorgeous city of London, the wonder of it was lost on me. Instead of sightseeing and marveling at the history surrounding me, I found myself seated at the end of my bed in my hotel room, aimlessly pushing around the contents of my bag as I contemplated what I should say when I meet the God of Thunder. Where would you even start?

Sighing, I pressed my palms to my eyes.

"_Don't. Don't work yourself up. Just find him and tell him what's going on - the rest is out of your hands. At least you'll have done your part, right?"_

"Hopefully." I muttered in response to myself, removing my hands from my eyes and turning my gaze to the photograph of my parents that sat atop of my belongings. I managed a small smile in spite of the anxiety I felt; it was hard to believe that it had already been over a week since I'd last seen them.

"_Parker! Concentrate!" I heard my father bark through the ringing in my ears. _

_My hand rose, cupping my jaw as I slowly peeled myself off of the coarse cement flooring of my parent's garage, a thin trail of blood dripping from my lips, marking the ground with deep red splotches. My face ached and burned from the blow; my father had teleported behind me, grabbed a hold of me, and bounced my head off of the floor before I could even react._

_My legs trembling, I stoop and wiped at the blood on my face. _

_"Good one." I offered._

_"Parker, be serious." My father scolded. "You may have abilities, but you lack the physical power that your enemies will possess. Your body is as fragile as a typical human, a vulnerability that your enemies will not share and will take advantage of if you allow them the chance. "_

_I nodded, "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I'll try harder. "_

_We went again, this time I disappeared into the air, launching myself down and onto my father's back with as much force as I could conjure. I had expected it to take him down completely, but he only fell to his knees before wrenching me off of him and tossing me across the room like a rag doll._

_"Better, but what did I just say?" He asked, a small laugh in his voice. _

_"Ugh..." I rolled my exhausted body to face him. "Feeble human, I think I've got it now."_

_"I certainly hope so."_

_"Just out of curiosity, what is it exactly that you expect me to be up against?" I inquired as I pulled myself to my feet again. _

_My father turned his eyes to the ground, wetting his lips with his tongue as he considered his words, before he returned his gaze to me. _

_"Lord knows, Parker, but I don't. I don't know, and that is frightening to me. I hope that the occasion never arises where you will have to defend yourself, but knowing what is out there - knowing what you __**could **__be up against, you must get a hold on your magic. It will be your only chance for survival. "_

_I smiled at my father; it wasn't a joyful smile but more of an acknowledgment. _

_"Would it make you feel better if I told you that I have absolutely __**no**__ intention to pick a fight with __**anyone**__?" I jested. _

_"Maybe not, but what if they come after you? The universe is littered with evil and there are many that cannot be trusted, my dear. "_

That was the longest weekend of my life, and even though it left me with a handful of bruises, my father succeeded in teaching me how to better channel my powers, enabling me not only to protect myself, but to attack as well. That's not to say that I had become an expert - that's absurd - but I was certainly much more in control of things.

Zipping my bag shut in one swift motion, I tossed it to the floor and kicked off my shoes. It was getting to be late and I had a lot to get done in the next few days. I buried myself under the thick covers and closed my eyes, rapidly drifting to sleep.

Spine-chilling red eyes greeted me, giving way to a scene - it was Odin with a newborn baby tucked into his arms. He was speaking with a beautiful woman whom I instinctively knew to be his wife, though I could not hear what they were saying. The Queen smiled and gently took the child from the Allfather, holding the baby against her chest lovingly. It should have been a sweet moment, but as I looked at that child, I couldn't help but feel this familiar unease creep up on me. It was the same awful feeling that I had experienced the first time, when I had seen those green eyes.

Mercifully, this vision, for lack of a better term, was cut short as I woke up in a cold sweat, struggling to catch my breath. Those eyes, those horrible red eyes were seared into my brain. I looked to the alarm clock that sat on the night stand to my right and found 2:47 AM staring back at me.

_"That's ok. I don't need sleep anyway..."_ I thought bitterly as I kicked the covers off of my body.

I popped my shoes back on and pulled a light sweater over myself as I headed out into the city.

In a place like London, I doubt that the city ever really sleeps, but tonight for whatever reason, there didn't seem to be too much going on. There were, of course, your chance group of friends out and about but that was about it. I wandered for a while before coming upon the brilliant Eye of London. I admired it for a moment, and kind of hoped that it would by some means point me in the right direction.

"_It's a Ferris Wheel, Parker. It's not going to speak to you. _"

I snorted in frustration at myself, and that is when I heard it.

"Jane, get him down from there! I'm **NOT** bailing him out again!"

"Just have the car ready, ok?" sniped a petite woman with long brown hair.

I followed the direction in which the group seemed to be watching and noticed that an older looking gentleman was attempting to scale the colossal Ferris wheel.

Then I saw _him_.

Slowly approaching the crazed man was this enormous, well-built man with golden tresses. It was unmistakable, even without his armor. This giant man was the God of Thunder.

**A/N: Alright, Thor! Yay! As I said before, expect the next chapter very, very soon. It's already been written, it just needs to be uploaded and published. And again people, REVIEWS, please - they would be very much appreciated. Very, very much. And as always, thank you for reading :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: THANK you SO much to those of you who reviewed, again I appreciate them a lot and I want to know what you guys think so please keep 'em coming. And I told you guys that I would have this up and so here it is. It's up. Enjoy. **

"Shit."

It seemed like the only appropriate response. On one hand, my job had just become infinitely easier - on the other though, I had hoped to have some time to pull myself together and practice what I would say. I had just wanted to go for a walk, clear my head but apparently the powers that be decided that it was show time.

I approached the small, thin brunette who was rushing towards the Eye of London, her eyes fixed on her unstable friend.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I called out, jogging to keep up with her.

She must not have realized that I was there, because she whirled around, clearly startled.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yea - Yeah, no - everything's fine. Our friend is just a little -" She began, wringing her hands.

"Crazy?" finished the second, dark haired woman with glasses as she strolled up to stand beside her friend.

"Darcy, I thought I asked you to get the car." The thin woman said with a small, nervous laugh.

Darcy shrugged. "Jane, chill. Ian's got it covered."

"Well, uhm..." I cut in, "maybe I can try talking to him?" I suggested, glancing over to see if the man had made much progress. He hadn't.

Jane and Darcy exchanged a look and just kind of raised their hands so as to say "Why the hell not?"

"Yeah, ok. He doesn't seem like he's having much luck, so yeah - give it a shot." Jane said, motioning towards the Ferris wheel.

"Erik, my friend, do not force me to come after you." I heard the low, warning voice of the God of Thunder call out as I came to stand beside him.

Allow me to just reiterate; this man was fucking _massive_. Pardon my language, but honestly this guy had to be roughly 6'5 and was just a wall of solid muscle with some skin stretched over it. He dwarfed me by easily a foot and some change - don't get me wrong, I know I'm short and so it doesn't take much to tower over me, but this was a big guy by anyone's standards.

"Hey, hi..." I greeted him awkwardly, immediately cursing inwardly at myself. "Mind if I give it a shot?"

Thor turned his eyes to me. They were almost difficult to look at, they were so vibrantly blue - they were **electrifying**, which seemed fitting. He glanced quickly over his shoulder to Jane, who nodded in a kind of quiet confirmation that it was ok.

"As you wish. Though, you should know that he will not see reason." He said, offering me an apologetic smile.

I smiled softly at him before taking a couple of steps forward.

"Uh, hi! Sir?! Wha - what exactly is it that you're trying to do?!" I inquired.

"If I can just get to the top, I..." Erik trailed off, getting lost in his own thoughts.

"Well, if you need to get up high somewhere, don't you think that it might be _SAFER_ to do so elsewhere maybe?"

Erik stared down at me for a moment as if he were considering my words, before again attempting to climb further up the structure.

"Damn. He really does not wanna listen, does he? "I muttered.

"No he does not." Thor concurred.

Unexpectedly, Erik lost his traction and began to fall from the beams. Before I knew it, I found myself next to him in midair, twisting my body and wrapping my arms tightly around his midsection. I pressed my eyes shut, concentrating, and then I felt the beautiful, familiar feeling of solid ground beneath my feet.

I opened my eyes to see that Jane, Darcy, and Thor had gathered around us, a mixture of astonishment and confusion written across their faces.

"That was amazing! How'd you do that?!" Jane blurted out.

I chuckled nervously, releasing Erik and running a hand through my long red hair that had become slightly disheveled from the trip.

"Just...genetics, I guess." I hoped that was a passable answer, and though it was obvious that Jane still had questions, she seemed to accept it and thanked me quietly, wrapping a blanket over Erik's shoulders and guiding him to their vehicle.

"Nice catch." Darcy remarked with an appreciative smile and nod before excusing herself to go join Jane.

I returned the gesture and continued to stand in place, trying to will my heart to stop pounding.

"That was extraordinary. My thanks, miss." Thor thanked me, a small laugh rumbling out of his chest. He gave me a light pat on the shoulder as he started towards the car where his friends waited for him.

"Hey, Th - erm - Sir!?" I called after him. He turned and met my gaze. It was odd how someone so big and imposing could have such a kind, thoughtful aura about them.

"Yes?"

"I, uhh..." _Great start, Parker_. "I think that there's something I ought to tell you..."

A man is sitting quietly, resting his eyes. Dried mud and splotches of old blood cover his body from head to toe. Thick chains tangle around the man's wrists and waist, securing him to the snow white wall of his prison cell. He opens a single eye for a moment, peering out through the gold tinted barrier to see nothing - nothing but dark stone and other, although empty, holding cells. He closes his eye again, attempting to find peace for himself, if only for a moment, when the loud sound of the heavy doors to this hell, again calls him away from his pursuit. The sound of footsteps echoes off of the walls, getting louder and louder before three men stand in front of the prisoners cell. The man stares into the face of the Allfather, and beside him stand two guards, ready to protect their king.

"Leave us." The Allfather instructed, his voice even, unreadable.

"My King -" One of the men started, uncomfortable with the king's order.

"Now." He did not raise his voice, but the warning was there.

The men complied, not needing to be told again.

"Why have you come this time? Do you intend to mock me while you wear my face? "The prisoner sighed in annoyance once the guards were gone.

A menacing smile spread across the Allfather's face. "Not this time, old man. No -this time I come with news." A shimmer of green engulfed the two men, revealing their true forms. An exhausted looking Odin, riddled with nasty cuts and bruises, sat chained to the wall. In place of the faux king stood a tall, slender man whose pale skin was emphasized by his dark clothing and long ink black hair. His sharp, handsome facial features did little to mask the rage that lives within him.

"News of what, Loki? News of how you've destroyed my kingdom?" Odin jabbed at his youngest.

The young god did not appear to be fazed.

"Your dear old friend, Brael - you remember him, do you not? Your Master of Magic, slain in battle?" Loki began, sardonically.

Odin remained silent, waiting for him to make his point.

"Yes, well..." Loki started again after Odin didn't respond, "imagine my surprise, when I come to find the old mage is alive and well, living a quiet life amongst the mortals of Midgard. It would appear that you've had Heimdall keeping tabs on him for you all this time. Tell me, did you know that he'd become a father?"

Odin nodded lightly. "I did."

Loki let out a soft chuckle, though the feeling was far from humorous. "How noble it was of you to play him off as a hero, a man who'd chose a mortal over his own people."

Again, Odin said nothing.

"It has become evident to the gatekeeper that this child of Brael's has inherited some of their father's talents. Were you aware?" Loki inquired.

Odin met Loki's gaze and measured his response for a moment. "I was not, though I am not surprised."

"No, I didn't expect you would be. Though you may be interested to know that by some...chance of fate, it would seem that the little mutt has come to meet Thor." Loki snarled, the sheer thought of the situation setting his teeth on edge.

It fell silent for a few minutes before Loki spoke again.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this?" It was more of an accusation than a question.

"No." The Allfather answered.

Loki thought over the Allfather's answer before stepping up close to the barrier.

"I certainly hope that you don't. Because should I come to find anything to suggest the contrary, I will personally rip that pathetic girl limb from bloody limb - and you, I will leave to the mercy of her father." He threatened, his voice a low growl as the green shimmer surrounded them, returning them to their previous forms.

Loki, again wearing the appearance of Odin, left the dungeon without another word. The prisoner closes his eye again, silently thanking the powers that be.

The girl had heard him.

**A/N: There it is. I hope you liked it, and again, reviews would be greatly appreciated.** :)


	6. Chapter 6

I thought that perhaps a nice, hot shower and a change of clothes would help to calm my nerves...

It did not.

I quickly threw on a pair of pants and a powder blue T-shirt, barely allowing enough time for my skin to dry as I ran my fingers through my tangled mess of damp hair in attempt to make it appear tame. When that failed I did what any sensible woman would do and tied the shit up.

Hastily, I turned and started gathering up my dirty clothes and other belongings, stuffing them into the only bag that I had brought with me. Of course, now that I was trying to move and move _urgently_ the bag didn't seem quite big enough to fit everything and would only zip part of the way up. I kept trying though, pulling aggressively on the stupid little piece of metal, eventually getting the zipper snagged.

"You little fucker..." I growled.

"_It'll have to be good enough._" I told myself, accepting the fact that I was just defeated by an inanimate object.

Grumbling, I slung the bag over my shoulder and left, heading back towards Jane's apartment. Last night, after I had explained everything that I had seen, Thor and Jane both insisted that I stay close, saying that they felt it was "in everyone's best interests" that we work together, although to be honest at this point I wasn't really sure what exactly it was that we were supposed to do. I had spilled everything to Thor and gotten little back in response -no possible explanation, no anything - he barely said anything, though what I saw in his face troubled me - everything he wouldn't say out loud was screaming in his eyes; there I saw a dreadful mixture of rage, horror, and pain. I knew that what I had told him meant something to him, but he was not about to tell me. Not yet anyway. And I couldn't really blame him for not wanting to share, he had just met me. I thought it odd at first that they would insist upon having me stay with them considering that fact - it's not often nowadays that people will invite strangers into their home, but I guess that with Thor there, I didn't pose much of a threat. Still, Thor wanted me nearby, and although he told me it was in case I had another vision, I could feel that there was something else, some other reason he didn't want to say.

I hurriedly made my way down the sidewalk, weaving in between people as I went, before I smashed into the back of some poor guy, knocking a magazine out of his hands and spilling half of the contents of my bag across the pavement.

"I am SO sorry, sir. I didn't even..."I began, beyond mortified. I could feel my cheeks burning red.

"No apology necessary. "The man spoke softly. The sound of his voice instantly sent chills down my spine that radiated out through every limb. There was a certain...smoothness to the sound that I had never encountered...it was lovely.

I turned my eyes up to look at him, as he loomed over me nearly as much as Thor. This man was exceptionally striking - strong jaw, cheekbones a woman would kill for, and thick, dark lashes to match his hair. After a moment, I figured I probably looked like a freak and tore my eyes away, focusing instead on the items that had fallen from my bag. I stooped down and started shoving my things back into the useless sack.

"I promise you, I don't usually go around knocking people over." I explained, trying to hide my face a little so he wouldn't see it getting redder and redder.

The man snickered. "No, I don't suspect you do."

I wasn't sure, but it sounded like an insult. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that you'd be very bad at it." He said with a smile.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah...yeah that's probably true."

"Allow me." He offered, crouching down and gathering up a few of my belongings.

"Oh - thanks." I replied as I took a hoodie and pair of pajama bottoms from his hands. I wadded the clothes up and put them in the bag. When I looked up I found the man holding the photo of my parents between his long fingers. He didn't appear to be passively looking at it, it was more of an analytical type of stare, but that wasn't what bothered me. I could've sworn that I saw something akin to recognition flash across his face.

I cleared my throat and he turned his eyes to me.

My heart stopped.

"Lovely family..." He complimented in a low voice, handing the photograph to me, his green eyes locked on my blue ones.

"Thank you." I replied softly, shoving the picture out of sight.

"So tell me, what brings you to London, love? Business or pleasure? "

"Business." I answered quickly. "In fact, I really should be going."

A knowing smile spread across his face. "Pity."

He stood and offered me his hand to help me to my feet, which I reluctantly accepted, feeling the coolness of his skin against mine. Every part of me wanted to run away screaming. Those eyes. I fucking know those eyes.

Shit.

"On your way then." He spoke gently.

"Yeah, uhm...well, thanks again..." I stuttered, giving a small wave as I turned to leave.

"Do take care, love..."

Funny, it sounded more like a warning...

**A/N: I am so sorry that this took so freaking long and is so freaking short. I've been sick and it kinda put a halt on getting this chapter out. On the other hand, look whose come sniffing around, sizing up his prey! Well, that's how I feel like he's looking at it. I feel like in this instance, Loki was testing Parker, and she failed. She failed pretty badly. So I'm gonna go have fun playing with that in the next chapter, which will, with any luck, be up fairly soon. As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and if it's not a bother, please leave a review. **


	7. Chapter 7

_"Shit, Parker, shit! What the FUCK did you just do?!"_

I pressed my eyes shut, trying to silence the voice screaming at me from the back of my head.

_"Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe he's just some weird guy. Maybe - Maybe you should stop being a dipshit!"_

I cursed under my breath, wishing that I could stop the internal dialog as I walked briskly down the side of another street. I was growing increasingly frustrated as I went; it hadn't been this difficult to find my way back to the hotel from Jane's apartment this morning - they weren't all that far from each other, for God's sake - but I felt like I was running around in circles now.

Lost in thought, I narrowly avoided losing my footing over a small green apple that had tumbled off of a nearby fruit stand.

_"It's really just gonna be one thing after another today, isn't it?" _I thought as I turned one more corner, running my hand down my face. I was starting to feel sick, likely due in part to stress. My head was spinning, my hands were shaking, and my peripherals were starting to go hazy.

I kept telling myself to keep going, to just keep on my merry way. I kept trying to shake what had happened with the green eyed man out of my mind, though it was of no use. I had handled it poorly, I admit. If he wasn't suspicious of me before, he certainly would be after that hasty exit. Nothing says that you've got nothing to hide like making up some piss poor excuse to leave. Actually, I don't even think I made much of an excuse, I kind of just left. Smooth.

I was ripped abruptly from my thoughts when I felt my ankle roll as I brought my foot down on a tiny, spherical object.

"Son of a-" I stopped as my eyes found the item that'd nearly taken me out.

A small green apple.

"I feel like we've met before..." I murmured, taking the apple into my hand. In fact, as I stood, my eyes scanning my surroundings, the whole street looked very familiar. From the little red car parked up ahead, to the fruit stand to my left, to the apple in my hand...

"What the fuck?" I mouthed as I looked around in disbelief. I had definitely just been on this street...but there had unquestionably been people out and about the first time around.

"Hello?" I called out, searching for an indication of life.

"Anyone?"

No answer.

"Great...just great." I whispered, feeling the panic that I'd hoped to have buried starting to rise.

_"You have a phone. Use it."_

My eyes brightened at the thought. Fumbling through the smaller outside pocket of my bag, I pulled the thin, white device out and started thumbing through my contacts.

That's when it hit me; it felt comparable of having a brick wall smash into the front of me. The force of it knocked me on my back and took the wind right out of me. I could feel a warm stream of blood trickle from my nose, dripping onto my lips as I turned my gaze to the shaking hand that held my phone. The gadget was destroyed, shards of the touchscreen had sliced my palm. I let the mangled device fall to the ground as I stood.

"What do you want?" I breathed shakily.

"Now...I had expected more of a fight." Came a familiar voice.

It was him. Of course it was him.

"Who are you?"

He smiled. That fucking smile. There was no friendliness to be found in it. It just looked _wrong_.

"I am Loki, of Asgard. And may I ask, what does the daughter of Brael call herself? "

Fuck.

"How do you -" I began.

"There is not a man, woman, or child in all of Asgard that does not know your fathers face. Now, I will not ask you again, girl." He explained darkly.

"It's Parker. My name's Parker. "

"Mm." He acknowledged, seemingly incredibly underwhelmed. "Well, it is a..._pleasure_ to make your acquaintance. Now, I'm going to have to insist that you come with me."

I scoffed. "Ooooh, no. No, I don't think so. No." I said, shaking my head.

"I'm not asking." He replied lowly as he approached.

Before he could put his hands on me, I closed my eyes and I was behind him, a pulse of energy surging out of me, crashing into the raven haired man as he turned. I saw his lower lip split, spilling crimson down his porcelain skin. He wiped at the blood with the back of his hand and turned his surprised gaze to me. The expression quickly turned to rage.

"That was very foolish, girl." He snarled, stalking towards me.

Sending out more blasts, I tried to hit him again but only succeeded in blowing up chunks of pavement before I felt an incredible pressure at the back of my skull. The last thing I remember before everything went black was watching the Loki in front of me shimmer away.

Amber eyes gaze out into the vast universe before them. Trillions upon trillions of souls and he can pin point a single one of them with ease. He sees a man and a woman at home, preparing dinner together as they always do. Behind the smile that his old friend wears, the gatekeeper can see the toll that worry has taken on his old friend. The man's daughter, his only child - the gatekeeper can tell that he worries for her greatly. He tries to turn his gaze upon her and to the gatekeepers surprise, he finds that he can't. He cannot see her anywhere.

**A/N: Yep, Parker has a real talent for getting herself in bad situations. As I said in my last update, I feel like Loki was testing her, and her god awful poker face has landed her on his shit list. Please note that Parker is supposed to be a normal young woman who just so happens to share extraordinary blood and as such has developed powers. She's not supposed to be eloquent or heroic. She's a fish out of water. At least for now she is. And I like that about her. Also, yes Loki totally whooped Parkers ass in this chapter. He probably will do so again. Loki is looking out for his own damn self at this point and is still very much a villain, and as such he will be a little dark at times. I hope you can enjoy that. As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Why me?

I don't mean to complain, but that question seemed to be a reoccurring thing in the back of my mind lately. Why did this have to happen to me? I was perfectly content to merely exist in the eyes of the world, to live a quiet life back in Michigan - live there, die there, completely ordinary, but I suppose it just wasn't meant to be.

I woke up on the floor, tucked into the corner of a large study with a thin, white blanket laid out on the floor beneath me, shielding my body from the cold stone below. There were a few bookcases that were absolutely filled to capacity, which was impressive considering their massive size, a central fireplace, and a small, round table off to the side that held various odds and ends - a couple of books, some papers, and a few vials filled with brightly colored, glowing liquids. Somebody's work space, no doubt.

I gingerly ran my fingertips across my temples; every pulse sending out another quick wave of stabbing pain.

For someone so skinny, he sure hit like a fucking truck.

Forcing myself to ignore the pain, I pushed myself to my feet, scanning my environment and immediately headed towards the bulky, wooden door. As I wrapped my hand around the door knob, I swiftly felt an intense burning sensation; I tried to push through it but it was impossible as the feeling grew to such an extent that it felt like I was dipping my hand in molten lava. I looked to my hand to assess the damage, but apart from the preexisting wounds to my palms, courtesy of Loki, my hand appeared unharmed. Turning my gaze again to the door knob, I noticed a green shimmer encasing it.

Figures.

_"Way to go, Parker. Hours - just HOURS - and you're already a prisoner."_

Allowing myself to fall back against the door, I slid down into a seated position, silently cursing myself.

Honestly, this had to be some kind of record. I was so irritated with myself; I am the absolute last person who should be given responsibility of this magnitude; I'm clumsy and weak - I'm not brave, I'm far from being anything resembling a warrior..

I'm not my father.

My father would have whooped that pretty boy's ass and sent him to bed without dinner. Problem solved.

_"This is no one's fault but your own. You got yourself here, now __**fix it**__."_

"Right." I muttered, pulling myself to my feet once again, scanning the room for potential alternative exits; a large window located directly above the round table seemed to be the only possibility.

Climbing atop the small table, I was barely tall enough to see the outside world, but what I could see was magnificent. I could see beautiful blue waters stretching on for miles in the distance, and beyond them stood these gigantic mountains with blankets of snow at their peaks. The afternoon sun was shining brilliantly, its warm light cascading over the golden structures below.

Far, far below, unfortunately.

I tore myself away from the window; there was no way that I could escape through it and live, and the more that I gazed out into the beautiful scenery, the greater the longing to be a part of it became.

I stood for a moment, considering what actions I should take next before turning my eyes to the massive bookcases. Perhaps something in one of those books could spark some inspiration?

With the obvious choices for escape out of the running, I had to come up with something.

_"Teleport, you idiot!"_

It hit me like a sack of bricks. Of course, why the hell didn't I think of it before?

I pressed my eyes shut and concentrated as hard as I could. I felt myself start to go before smashing into the wall, a familiar burning sensation dancing across my skin.

"The fuck?" I growled, opening my eyes to find that I had gone nowhere, the walls of the room now shimmering green as well.

This guy was really starting to piss me off.

Time passed so slowly - hour after hour after hour in silence, trying to formulate a plan, a good one, in order leave this place still breathing. This man was not stupid and it was going to take one hell of a plot and maybe even a little miracle to get out from under his thumb.

The sun had long since set, and I had decided to light a fire in the fireplace and call it a day. I had given up on trying to read many of the books I had taken from the shelves, as many of them were in a foreign language and I was unable read them, and no sooner had I crawled into my corner, the door opened.

It was him. I wasn't surprised, I had practically been waiting for him all day. I had half a mind to ask him what had taken him so long, but I didn't. He looked..._tired. _And I certainly didn't want to irritate him right off the bat.

"Hi." I spoke, breaking the silence.

He flicked his eyes towards me, quickly looking me up and down, making me feel incredibly self-conscious in an instant.

"Good evening." He replied with a small sigh as he crossed the room to sit at the table, allowing himself to fall into the chair.

"Where am I?" I asked, hating how small my voice sounded as I spoke.

He just looked at me for a moment, neither kindness nor malice evident in his eyes.

"Asgard." He responded simply. "More specifically, you're in my study."

He sounded bored.

"Why?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why? As in why am I here instead of locked up in a cell somewhere? "

He laughed at this. A genuine laugh.

"Ohh, sweet girl. There is no need for such precautions, not with you."

Asshole.

"Besides," He continued, "you are safer here, where no one can see nor hear you."

"And how do you know that no one will hear or see me?"

He grinned a mischievous, knowing grin.

"My quarters have been deemed off limits to all Asgardian's, including the Royal Guards."

"Why?"

"Out of respect for the dead, I suppose."

My confusion must have been plain as day on my face.

"Ah, I gather Thor must have left that part out during your little chat." He jabbed.

"He didn't say much of anything, actually." I muttered.

"And what of you? What did you have to say to my dear brother? "He practically spat the last few words.

Damn.

"Not much..." I lied. "Just asked him about New York and the Avengers..."

It seemed believable to me.

He chuckled softly. "You mean to deceive me, girl? Do you have any idea of to whom it is you speak? "

I shrugged. "Your name is vaguely familiar. I think my father mentioned you before, why?"

"Dishonesty is a part of my arsenal, child. I know a lie when I hear one."

"Oh."

"So tell me, how is it that you recognized me back in London? From New York, perhaps? "

"What? The alien invasion? No - Why, were you there? "I asked.

The media had portrayed the attack in New York as more of an alien invasion than anything else, with little to no mention of any other involvement, save for that of Thor and the Avengers.

Loki's thin lips tightened in aggravation.

"An alien invasion? Is that what they're calling it? "

"Yeah, why?"

He shot me a murderous look that told me I should shut up, and I did.

"How, then, did you recognize me?" He asked.

"My father used to tell me stories, I think he described you to me before. I saw your eyes and it just kind of clicked." I lied, despite his previous claim.

He rolled his eyes.

"I am not in a gaming mood, girl." He warned. "Tell me how you happened upon Thor."

I told him the truth, mostly at least. I explained to him that I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk and found Thor trying to coax his friend, Erik, off of the Eye of London. Then it was Loki's turn to be confused.

"According to Thor, Erik has had a rough go of things lately and it's left him a bit unstable." I clarified.

"Ah. Yes, I'm sure it has." He snickered.

"What?"

"What was it that -" He began again, ignoring my question completely.

"What did you mean when you said that no one would come here out of respect for the dead?" I spoke over him.

He stared at me for a moment, as if he were trying to decide whether he wanted to be angry or not over my intrusion.

"I think this will go easier if it's more like a conversation and less like an interrogation, is all. You answer my questions, and I'll answer yours." I added.

He tilted his head at me and smirked.

"You are a prisoner here, you don't have the luxury of deciding which method of interrogation you are subject to. And trust me, child, I can get the answers I seek with or without your cooperation. "He threatened lowly. "However, to answer your question, the Asgardian people believe that I was slain in battle against the Dark Elves."

"How do you get around then, if everyone thinks you're dead?"

His smirk widened.

"I have an aptitude for concealing myself so that no one may recognize me, even while they speak to me directly."

And all of a sudden I got it - my vision of Odin on the throne, but Odin being held prisoner at the same time, it now made sense.

Loki was a shapeshifter.

Worse, Loki was king of Asgard.

**A/N: OK, so I know not a whole lot happened in this chapter, at least it doesn't feel like it to me, but this is where Parker and Loki's relationship is really beginning, and no, it's not a very happy beginning and it's not going to be. These two are on opposite sides in the fight for the universe right now, and so naturally there is gonna be friction. I am kind of proud of Parker in this chapter, she doesn't really hide or panic in his presence like she did the first time. I feel like she's kind of accepted the fact that she is in this situation whether she likes it or not, and that she has to work with it. The next chapter has already been written, I just want to go over it once more before posting. So expect that in a day or so. I'm also thinking about perhaps doing a Loki POV in one of these upcoming chapters. I think it would be interesting to hear things from his perspective and get his take on Parker. As always, thank you for reading and PLEASE, if you would be so kind, leave a review. I really do enjoy and appreciate the feedback.**


	9. Chapter 9

My poker face must be truly wretched because it took only seconds for Loki to recognize that _something _he had said had made a whole lot of sense to me.

"What was that?" He inquired darkly, stepping closer.

"What was what?"

"You're trying my patience, child." He snarled. "Tell me what you know."

"I don't _know_ anything!" I insisted, throwing my hands up as if they would shield me.

I knew that lying would do me no favors, but the way I saw it, I really didn't know much and the little I did know, I wasn't about to share with _him_. I may not be hero material but I sure as hell wasn't going to allow myself to be the one who spills everything to the bad guy. I just wish I had known beforehand exactly how poor of a decision it was to lie to this particular god.

The feeling, like a fistful of tiny, razor sharp blades being pushed and twisted into my brain, shot excruciating pain throughout my entire body. It felt like this went on for hours although I know it was mere seconds before he stopped.

"There are easier ways to go about this, girl. I _will _find out what I need to know one way or the other, but know that should you choose not to cooperate, I have no quarrel with tearing your little mind apart piece by piece." He hissed, stepping even closer. I could reach out and touch him if I were so inclined, but I was paralyzed. He had paused his attack on my mind, but the pain had not subsided. Not in the slightest.

I remained silent, not even sure if I could have spoken if I wanted to.

He came at me again, the same pain came rolling through me once more. My eyes began to water involuntarily and I could taste the metallic flavor of blood on my tongue. Flashing images ripped their way to the surface of my mind, in them I saw Director Fury and the old, abandoned building back in Detroit. He was pulling up my memories...

The intrusion ceased again.

It felt like it took all of my strength to do so, but I turned my eyes to the raven haired god, curious as to why he hadn't spoken yet. Something danced across his face, if only for a moment, something that looked an awful lot like fear.

"What is SHIELD's interest in the Infinity Gauntlet?" He asked lowly after a moment. "What is it that they know?"

"I don't know." I answered weakly.

"Have they spoken to Thor?" He inquired, his voice growing somewhat anxious.

I didn't speak. I just scanned his face with my eyes, and for a second I could've sworn that the man standing in front of me was not the all-powerful God of Chaos, but a frightened, vulnerable creature.

"What are you so afraid of?" my voice was barely a whisper.

The god quickly regained his composure, his worry turning to rage, and I knew to expect another attack. I pressed my eyes close, drawing into myself in attempt to just block everything out. I felt a heaviness inside of my skull that was accompanied by a few quick flickers, and then it was over.

I heard Loki grunt in pain and opened my eyes to see that he had recoiled away from me, a hand held to his temple. He turned his eyes to me, a look of disbelief on his face as again everything faded to black.

"Any luck?" Jane asked the God of Thunder, looking up from her crossword puzzle as he entered the kitchen. The deep frown that had formed on his face practically answered that question for him.

"No." He sighed, shaking his head lightly as he took the seat opposite of Jane. "I've not been able to find trace of her anywhere."

"Do you think she mighta skipped town or something?" Darcy's muffled voice called from in front of the television, her mouth half full of bagel.

Jane quirked an eyebrow at Thor, but the blonde god just shook his head.

"No...I trust that she was genuine. And with the things that she's seen...should they prove to be true, I fear that she could be in danger." He replied somberly.

"Well, what do you think? Should we get ahold of SHIELD? "Jane suggested.

Thor was silent for a minute as he considered her words.

"Jane, if Parker is in the hands of SHIELD, then it is likely that no harm will come to her. But if not, then it is possible that she may not be safe. If that is the case then her time is limited, and I must act now."

"How do you expect to do that? We don't even know where she is."

Thor leaned forward, taking Jane's petite hand in his.

"Maybe not, but I have a pretty good idea."

It was early morning when I woke again, the sun just starting to rise, spilling a tiny bit of its light through the windows. I opened my eyes to find myself in a beautiful bedroom; it was a good size room with two large bookcases, a work table, a large dresser...Everything in the room was very ornate, to the point that the whole area kind of felt like something out of an old painting. The bed that I was resting in was almost unnaturally soft and extraordinarily attractive, with forest green fabrics trimmed in gold.

"You are a _fragile_ little creature, aren't you?" I heard him speak before I saw him.

He was seated in a nearby chair, skimming through a tattered, old book. Dropping it into his lap, he folded his hands politely.

"Fuck off." I heard myself snarl. I didn't know whether it was my frustration at the situation, the resentment I felt towards my captor, or a combination of everything that made me stop caring whether or not I angered him, but at that point I simply wasn't in the mood.

"Now, now. Surely you were raised better than _that._" He taunted, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Ok – look," I snapped, "I'm not in the mood to play games with you, so if you're here looking for more answers, you're going to be very disappointed."

"How charming. You must think you're so brave."

"No." I cut in. "No, this has nothing to do with that. This is only because I don't fucking like you."

"You _**wound**_ me - here I thought I was being so kind, allowing to recover in my bed." He practically purred.

I rolled my eyes and it fell quiet for a second.

"So…are you going to kill me?" I asked abruptly.

The question had caught him off guard, however his response was quick.

"I'm not sure." He answered quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"I haven't decided." He repeated, much more firmly this time.

"May I ask, what is the hold up?"

He sighed and took a seat at the edge of the bed, far too close for comfort to me, but I dealt with it.

"There is much that you don't know about this world, girl. For example, here, strength is valued far more than talent or intelligence, and those who fall to one side rather than the other tend to find themselves...cast aside. Like a lot of rubbish. When I was a young boy, it became very evident which side I was to fall to, and so my mother, with the assistance of the most powerful mage in all of Asgard, instructed me in the art of magic. That mage was your father, and he taught me much of what I know. It is the respect that I have for him that stands as the only reason I have yet to make a decision. Though do not make the mistake of believing it will protect you forever."

"I won't."

He smirked and with that he stood and left without as much as a backwards glance, leaving me all by myself again.

It was welcome though, it provided me with the opportunity to think back on what I had seen the last time he had tried to attack my mind. A few images of Odin, a grotesque alien figure...

A glimpse of a towering, purple mutant.

**A/N: Ohh, snap. Parker got a little glimpse inside of our boys head. I think next chapter we might get to see things through Loki's eyes for a bit and see what kind of chaos is going on inside there, and maybe even see what he thinks of Parker at the moment. I would say there's probably a lot of conflict going on up top, but one thing I will say is that I think she is definitely surprising him. Loki is more than confident, he's arrogant, and I think that the fact that Parkers managed to get a couple good shots in at him is gonna be a fun topic to go over. I feel like Loki was dangerously close to almost being kind at a couple points in this chapter, but seeing as he was pretty much torturing the poor girl right off the bat, I don't know, maybe it evens out. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update, thanks for reading, and please leave a REVIEW:] **


	10. Chapter 10

The golden hall stood quiet as the Allfather sat upon his extravagant throne, lost in his thoughts – at least in the eyes of everybody around him, that's how it would appear.

They would never have fathomed that it was really the God of Mischief.

It made his skin crawl – wearing the face of the man he so loathed – but it was a means to an end. At long last, he had the authority and the reverence that he so deserved, though he found it considerably less gratifying than he had hoped - in fact, he found himself nigh on detesting his new title. Although he was perfectly ready to confess that satisfaction was not in his nature, he had anticipated that this particular feat would be different - something was getting in his way, and he knew precisely what that _something_ was. It would be virtually impossible for him to enjoy his reign as king until he was rid of that bothersome mutant.

Loki let out a hushed sound of disgust at the mere thought of the Titanian Eternal – he found the monsters motives pathetic, but Loki wasn't senseless and for that reason he was not about to step in the creature's way – though exactly how long Loki could endure being his minion was an entirely different story.

Footsteps resonated through the hall, pulling the god back to the present. The armor clad gatekeeper approached the throne and kneeled, placing his fist over his heart.

"My king." Heimdall's deep voice came, courteously addressing his ruler.

"Heimdall." Loki acknowledged the gatekeeper in return. "What news do you bring today?"

Heimdall turned his amber eyes up to meet Loki's. This often made the young god slightly uncomfortable – as confident in his abilities as he was, not much got passed the gatekeeper and he half expected the man to recognize him for who he really was.

"All is well with Brael, though he worries for his daughter." Heimdall began as Loki nodded and waited for him to continue. "In regards to his daughter though, I'm afraid I have troubling news."

_I suspect you do._

"And what news is that?" Loki inquired, as if he did not already know.

"I cannot see her, my King."

"Ah."

The gatekeeper opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as he tried to process the response – or lack thereof – of the king to this update.

"Pardon me, my king, but is that not cause for alarm?" Heimdall inquired once he found his words again.

"Not necessarily, no. It is not altogether uncommon for those with an aptitude for magic to develop the ability to hide themselves should they feel so inclined." Loki brushed off the gatekeeper's unease.

Heimdall bobbed his head softly. "This is true, my king – a _practiced_ magician would have little trouble cloaking themselves in such a way, but Parker has yet to display that level of stability in her powers."

"Perhaps she's not doing it on purpose." Loki began, "I agree that the girl has very little control over her powers but it is entirely possible that this ability is just now emerging. She may be, as of yet, unaware of it. I would not be surprised to find her wholly ignorant of the fact that she is doing anything at all."

Heimdall nodded in acknowledgment. "That is very possible, my King. It is also possible that there is another, practiced in the art of magic, who does not wish me to see her."

The gatekeepers sharp tone made every muscle in Loki's body go rigid as a mixture of anxiety and rage nearly made its way to the surface – it would have compromised him in an instant had he not managed to hold it back.

"We mustn't jump to conclusions," Loki spoke after a moment, "keep an eye out and let me know if there are any changes."

With that, he excused Heimdall, watching the man as he departed.

_Parker._

He let out a low, aggravated growl.

That damn girl was proving to be much more of a hassle than he had hoped for.

Loki gently grazed his fingertip across the sore, red mark that she had left upon his lips – he was still finding it hard to believe that she had managed to get a hit in on him - not just once, but _twice_. As much as he may have hated to admit it, he found himself mildly impressed by her. She had merely gotten lucky, no doubt – that much was clear by the surprise that had been reflected on her face – but it was also evident to Loki from the moment he had first laid eyes on the girl that the amount of power she held within her was immense; thankfully for him, she apparently hadn't figured out how to tap into it yet, at least not on purpose.

He still wasn't sure whether or not he would take her life after all was said and done, but the thought of it, vexingly enough, left him with a sour feeling. She was just an absurd girl who had clearly had bitten off much more than she could chew - her only redeeming quality, in his opinion, was her beautiful face - but even that would do her no favors. No, it was the girl's father that was making this decision so difficult for him – the memory of his mentor serving almost like a conscience.

The god sighed, holding his head in his hands.

Perhaps if he waited long enough, it would no longer be _his_ decision.

* * *

The sun rests just above the horizon, slowly sinking, taking its brilliant light with it. It will soon be night in the city of London.

Jane Foster stands wrapped in a fleece blanket on the patio of her apartment.

"How are you going to get to Asgard if Heimdall won't open the bifrost to you?" She asks softly.

Standing before her is Thor in his silver and black armor, his bright red cape draped over his shoulders. He offers his love a genuine smile.

"There are a handful of ways into Asgard." He begins, "And as clever as Loki may be, there is one here on Earth that even he is unaware of."

"So, you really think it's him, then?"

Thor's smile wavers a bit. "I do."

"Well," Jane speaks again after a moment, "where is this entrance?"

Thor takes a couple of steps towards Jane, closing the distance between them. He looks down at her, his face kind.

"In the land your people call Norway, there is an ancient cave. Inside of this cave there is a kind of portal – a gateway to our realm. I will use this to return to Asgard and stop Loki…for the last time."

Jane offers the god a small smile.

"Be careful."

Thor lets out a small chuckle.

"Of course." He says.

"I mean it."

The god of Thunder smiles thoughtfully at Jane before planting a soft kiss on her lips.

"I will return to you, that much I promise." He assures her.

Thor backs away from the small woman as his hammer, Mjolnir, comes soaring overhead. He reaches out a large hand and effortlessly takes hold of the handle, rapidly disappearing into the distance.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, guys! I sincerely apologize that this chapter took so long to get out. Midterms and work have been kicking my ass the past couple weeks, but I'm working through it.**

**OKAY, so, as you may have noticed, I tend to write in the first person, so this chapter was very difficult for me. There is a severe lack of Parker in this chapter, but I wanted to not concentrate on her for a minute seeing as the whole story, practically, is from her point of view. But in keeping her out of this chapter, I feel slightly uncomfortable with it, because this is just not normally how I write. I feel like in the least the basic concept of what I was going for will get across though, and I hope it does.**

**We get to concentrate on Loki for a bit, and though we are not directly in his head, we get an idea of the things that are lurking there. Funnily enough, he is NOT enjoying his reign as king and he drops some hints about maybe why that is. We also see that he thinks Parker is pretty (Aww), but he also thinks she is stupid and ridiculous and he is getting pretty sick of her bullshit ( ). **

**Between Heimdall and Thor, it would seem that our boy has some troubles coming his way – as if he weren't in some hot water to begin with. Loki is a very smart character and very, very good at being the villain, so I really hate to throw kinks in his shit so soon, but understand that this is MONTHS after the end of Thor the Dark World, so he's been doing pretty good, I think, and it is necessary for things to happen in order to further his story. **

**_IMPORTANT_: I have gone through and reworked some chapters, mostly the earlier ones. The story has NOT changed at all, I just reread them and decided I didn't like the way they sounded, so if you want to go back and take a look that is completely up to you, though it is not at all necessary. Also, I would REALLY, REALLY greatly appreciate the REVIEWS, if you would be so kind. It may sound stupid but they really do help – they are a great motivator and they kind of inspire me to keep on keeping on. As always, THANK YOU for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW. **


	11. Chapter 11

Gusts of wind tore through the land violently, throwing an endless sheet of snow and ice into the air. Even having been to the realm of the Frost Giants, the God of Thunder found this place to be particularly unforgiving. The visibility was poor, it was bitterly cold, and he was having difficulty keeping his footing. It had taken much longer than he had anticipated, but eventually Thor spotted a dark cavern, the entrance almost completely blocked off by a large drift of snow.

Clearing away a substantial portion of the mound, he finally managed to slip inside of the cave. The dark stone was covered in etchings from floor to ceiling that grew in mass and intricacy as the god delved deeper. It was not long before Thor heard a soft humming sound resonating through the cavern and came to find a fluid-like, flickering barrier of gold before him. The God of Thunder smiled to himself, knowing he had found the gateway.

* * *

Three days.

It had been three days since Loki had taken Parker as his captive, and it hadn't occurred to him that perhaps the frail girl would require feeding. Having just finished lunch himself, he considered that it may be in his best interest to provide her with food before she succumbed to starvation. She would be little good to him dead, though she was not proving to be much good to him alive, either at this point. The idea crossed his mind that should it come down to it - should he need to be rid of her - that this method would stand towards the top of his list as to how to handle it. Ignoring her to death would surely be much easier, at least on his part.

Although the banquet table that stood before Loki had already been rather picked over, there was still a considerable amount of food left. He carefully plucked bits and pieces off of the serving platters, dropping them softly onto a separate, smaller plate for his prisoner. He sneered as he thought of how easy the mortal had it. He was allowing her to stay in relative comfort, and here he was now, bringing her real food – not the slop he had been brought during his stay in the dungeons.

A benevolent god, indeed.

Once he had salvaged what he could, the raven hair god turned on his heel and made his way towards his chambers, where the girl had taken up residency.

* * *

I was sitting pretzel-style in the middle of Loki's enormous bed, flipping through a small journal I had found in one of the compartments of his worktable earlier that day. It was one of the only things that I could find that I was actually capable of reading, and I thought that maybe it could give me some insight. Unfortunately, it became apparent rather quickly that this was a very, very old journal – from when Loki was a boy, in fact – and held no information that would help me in my current predicament.

In his writings, Loki recounted lessons with his mother and training sessions with my father, whom he referred to as "Lord Brael". I chuckled a little bit – I couldn't help it – it was hard to picture my father as anything but the man that I knew; the man that I had to give lessons to on how to use his iPhone, the man who would sing loudly and dance with my mother in the kitchen as they prepared dinner together – that was my dad.

It was very clear in Loki's writings that he felt like an outcast, a mere blip on the radar in comparison to his older brother. It was also apparent that he held his mother, whom he lovingly referred to simply as "mum", and my father in very high reverence, and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't warm my heart a little bit. To picture my father mentoring the little boy who had written these words – it was a good feeling – but the feeling was quickly diminished as I reminded myself who this little boy turned out to be, and how he had used those teachings to commit horrendous acts of violence.

The door swung open with a loud creak as the young god entered the room. He held in his hands a small, white plate with an assortment of food on it that I could not tear my eyes away from. The pangs of hunger had been clawing at me since the day before and I was just about ready to consider alternative sources of nourishment. I was so engrossed by the vision of food before me that I had completely forgotten that I held an incredibly personal possession of Loki's in my hands.

"Let's trade, shall we?" Loki's voice came briskly as he dropped the plate next to me on the bed and swiftly snatched the journal from my fingers, tucking it under his arm protectively.

"Sounds like you were a pretty sad kid." I commented as he turned away.

"Eat." He ordered, brushing the remark off like nothing.

I instantly complied and began picking at what looked like some kind of roast, trying very hard to not just bury my face in it as I watched Loki slowly take a seat in front of his worktable. It was silent for a moment before I spoke again.

"What was he like?"

"Pardon?" Loki asked, genuinely confused.

"My dad. What was he like before…?" I motioned with my hands, failing to find my words.

"Before you?" He finished for me.

"Yeah. Well, before he met my mother, I guess."

"Mm." Loki nodded. He didn't speak for a little while as he considered his words.

"Quiet." He answered finally.

Not the response I had expected.

"What?"

Loki shot me a sideways glance before rolling his eyes and turning to face me fully.

"What is it you expect me to say, child? Your father always was a man of very few words when I knew him, which begs the question – where did you acquire this trait for incessant chatter? That human mother of yours, no doubt."

The way he said the word "human", you would think he was referring to a terrible disease. It made me cringe internally.

"Well clearly _somebody's _mother never bothered to teach him manners." I muttered so quietly I wasn't even sure if he could really catch it.

He caught it, alright.

In an instant, I was knocked onto my back and Loki hovered over top of me, his cold, long fingers digging into my jaw. His face remained unreadable despite this aggression.

"You are _never _speak of my mother again. Do we have an understanding?" He spoke softly – not gently – but softly. The warning was still undeniably there.

I bobbed my head in agreement.

"Good." He replied, roughly releasing his grasp on my face.

He climbed off of the bed, returning to his seat and I decided to make a mental note of the fact that his mother was a sore spot.

I watched as Loki indifferently looked through a pile of papers that sat on his desk and began to jot some words down on a clean piece of parchment. It was uncomfortably quiet for the better part of fifteen minutes as he pointedly ignored me. I just kind of sat there, shifting anxiously as I waited for something to happen. Finally he spoke, although he did not bother to look at me.

"So, what did you see?" Was his question.

"Excuse me?"

He set his quill down and turned to face me again, folding his hands in lap.

"The other night as I attempted to look inside your mind, my magic rebounded on me. Our minds were still very much connected at that point, and so I know that you saw something. I would like to know what." He almost sounded polite.

The abrupt shift in his mood made me uneasy – he had be pinned a few minutes ago and now here he sat, almost asking nicely for my cooperation.

"I remember seeing a big, purple guy and a really nasty looking alien creature with a kind of weird veil." I admitted.

It wasn't exactly a lie, more like a half-truth. I just left out the part where I had seen him arranging to have a crimson fluid, the Aether, moved off of Asgard. I hadn't been lucky enough to catch where it had been sent, but at least I knew that it was floating around in his head somewhere.

Loki seemed to accept my answer, as he merely nodded and turned back to his papers without saying another word.

"Who are they?" I heard myself ask.

"Nobody that you need concern yourself with."

* * *

Loki spent the bulk of his afternoon in his chambers with Parker, reading and writing in his journal, occasionally stealing glances of the girl to make sure she wasn't getting into anything he didn't want her to. He found himself feeling a bit annoyed by the fact that in the entire kingdom – in _his _kingdom – the only place that he could withdraw to in order to find solace was now occupied by _her_. Now he had to worry about what she was managing to get her hands on while he wasn't there to babysit her, but he could think of no other place to put her. He couldn't very well put her in the dungeon with Odin, between the two of them they very well may have been able to figure something out. He could not put her in any other part of the palace, either – it would seem odd if someone were to stumble upon her, especially if word were to reach the gatekeeper – imagine his suspicion if he were to find the one soul he cannot see hiding under his nose.

Suddenly, an uproar came reverberating through the palace. Loki and Parker both froze and turned their gazes to one another. The god stood quickly, transforming into himself into the Allfather as he pointed an outstretched finger at Parker.

"Do not move." Was all he said before he disappeared into the hallway.

As soon as Loki had gone, Parker leapt off of the bed. She raced to the door and wrapped her small hand around the door knob – waiting for a moment to see if anything would happen. When nothing did, she proceeded to push the door open, her heart pounding. In his haste, Loki hadn't left any enchantments to keep her imprisoned – he hadn't even locked the door behind him.

This was her chance.

* * *

**A/N: I am actually very excited to be at this point now. It felt like it has taken forever to get here, but this is kind of the start of the curve thats going to take us into the bigger story here and how Loki is going to be involved in that and how Loki and Parkers relationship will start to develop. Yay :) Anyway, thanks for reading and please LEAVE A REVIEW.**


	12. Chapter 12

I hesitated. I hadn't thought that I would, but now that I was presented with this opportunity, I found myself suddenly very aware of all of the holes in my plan - I had a vague idea of what I ought to do, but not much beyond that. And it just seemed too good to be true – that someone like Loki would take off, leaving nothing in place to keep me here - all this time that I had spent stressing over coming up with a plan and now all I had to do was walk out the door. It was just too easy. I wetted my lips as my eyes darted around, scanning the long corridor before me, knowing that my only chance for escape was somewhere out there, and that I needed to take it – **now**.

And so I pushed forward, carrying myself down the passageway with as much speed as I could muster, the stone floor was cold beneath my bare feet. On impulse, I began heading in the direction that the commotion was coming from, the sound of jubilant voices becoming louder and louder as I approached. I knew that Loki would not be far off from whatever was taking place there, but perhaps whatever _it_ was would keep him - and everyone else, for that matter - preoccupied long enough for me to at least make it out of the palace.

I knew where I needed to go – I didn't quite know how to get there – but I knew where I needed to go, nonetheless. It was the only part of my plan that was set in stone: gain access to the dungeon and find Odin. Without his aid, my odds of getting home would be almost completely lost. The Asgardian people, I suspected, would not respond favorably to my presence for multiple reasons - the foremost being my embarrassingly obvious humanity, followed closely by my identity or, more specifically, my father's, although thankfully that would not be something they could tell just by looking at me. That being said, I had long since crossed them off of the list as possible allies, leaving me with virtually no alternative option. It had come down to one, and it had to be him. The one and only person in this bizarre world that I knew of that would help me was locked up and so where ever he was, that's where I needed to be.

I rounded a corner, glancing to the side and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight that greeted me. Through a towering archway, I could see into a massive assembly room where a large crowd had gathered, and in the midst of this sea of people stood the God of Thunder himself.

I could have literally jumped for joy.

The grim look on Thor's face was unmistakable to me, even as far away as I stood, though his pack of admirers seemed to be entirely oblivious to it. The powerful god scowled up at his brother, who stood before the throne in the guise of their father, holding the king's staff in his hand. Loki tapped the golden staff on the floor, sending a low _thud_ reverberating through the room, causing the crowd to silence themselves in an instant.

"Leave us." Loki ordered coolly.

The mob wasted no time, immediately filing out of the room at their king's command – soon, it was only the two brothers. And myself, I suppose, though they were not aware of my presence.

"Loki, I know it is you. Reveal yourself." Thor demanded lowly.

Surprise crossed the god of mischief's face before he let out a puff of air as he chuckled, obeying Thor's command without a fight.

"It's so nice to see you again, brother." He began sarcastically, "What brings you to Asgard?"

"A mortal, actually." Thor replied.

"Ah, yes – _her_."

"What have you done with her?"

"What does it matter to you?" Loki sneered. "Why would you come all this way for a silly little girl?"

"That 'silly little girl' knows an awful lot about your scheming, brother. There is more to her than you know."

"Oh – I very much doubt that."

Confusion flashed across Thor's face.

"You haven't a clue who she is, do you?" The younger brother questioned scornfully.

"Enough, Loki! Tell me what you have done!" Thor roared, raising his hammer.

A wicked grin spread across Loki's face as he slowly took a step down towards his brother, his grip tightening around his weapon.

There was going to be a fight, that much was clear, and so I figured I had eavesdropped long enough. I spotted an opening off to the side and darted through it, soon finding myself in a large courtyard. I had made it _just_ outside of the main portion of the palace, and there were citizens and guards _everywhere_. I quickly became painfully aware of how out of place I was. There was no way that I would be able to go unnoticed – and I didn't.

It took mere seconds for someone to notice me, and once one person did, they all started to turn – staring, pointing, and whispering. I shifted uncomfortably – what do you do in that situation? If you run you look suspicious, but if you stand there you just look awkward.

"You there! Girl! Don't move!" A young guard barked as he pointed at me with his scepter, briskly walking towards me.

I raised my hands up, spreading my fingers apart in surrender.

"I mean no harm." I squeaked.

"Who are you, Midgardian? How did you get here?"

"I was brought here by – by Loki," I began, stumbling over my words, "he's making himself look like the king, and he's not, but he's been acting as king while Odin has been locked up and he's just fucking everything up and so Thor's here and –"

"Enough!" The guard ordered. "Answer me, girl."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, my words escaping me.

An explosive noise rumbled through the courtyard, so powerful that you could physically feel the vibrations of it. All eyes turned towards the entrance of the palace as parts of the structure began to break off and crumble to the ground. I quickly turned my attention back to the guard before me, who was still preoccupied with the sight, and I decided to try again.

"Look, Loki brought me here to keep me captive because I was trying to help Thor. I know that you all think he was killed but he wasn't – he is alive and well and has been disguising himself as Odin this entire time – he's been calling the shots and using his authority to do God knows what, while your real king has been sitting in a jail cell. That's why Thor is here now, and I imagine that is what all _that_ is about." I explained, motioning towards the building.

The man bobbed his softly but remained silent as a group of guards rushed past us. He turned to join them but I reached a hand out, locking him in place as I grasped his wrist.

"Thor can handle himself, but I need your help to find the Allfather."

His eyes shifted back and forth between me and the palace, he was clearly conflicted.

"Please." I urged.

The young guard reluctantly nodded.

"Ye- yes, of course. Follow me."

We crossed the courtyard and weaved in and out of a fistful of long corridors before pushing past an enormous set of doors. We hurried down a dark, stone staircase that seemed to stretch on forever before I found myself in a familiar place.

The dirty looking stone, the white walled cells with the gold-tinted barriers – this was the Dungeon.

And there sat the old man, the one and only prisoner.

"Parker?" The captive called out in disbelief.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Loki." I replied simply.

The Allfather nodded; that was all the explanation I needed, apparently.

"Do you two know each other?" The guard asked me in a hushed voice, the confusion plain as day on his face.

"Can you open the cell?" I inquired, turning my attention to him and pointedly ignoring his question.

He shook his head slowly.

"Destroy it, child."

"Excuse me?"

"If you can overwhelm the barrier, it will fail." Odin explained.

"I can't." I started. "My abilities aren't strong enough."

"Try." The Allfather urged.

Pressing my eyes shut, I managed to push a wall of energy into the barrier. It flickered wildly for a moment before the pain became too much and I was forced to stop.

Panting, I held my head in my hands and cursed softly to myself. It felt like I had been electrocuted and set on fire all at once – it was terrible.

"Again, child." I heard Odin say. "Just a little longer and you would have had it."

Reluctantly, I made a second attempt, and again a kind of energy came surging out of me, pressing into the barrier. It flickered, and flickered some more, and then there came a small sound as it disappeared entirely.

I felt my knees buckle as I fell to the floor, a warm stream of blood flowing from my nose. I gripped at my head as I struggled to catch my breath, the immense pain slowly but surely began to dull.

"Are you ok, miss?" I heard the voice of the guard call to me as he placed his hand gently on my shoulder, taking a knee beside me.

I bobbed my head softly. "Yes- yeah. I think so."

"How did you do that?" He asked quietly as a small group of guards rushed into the Dungeon, immediately crowding into Odin's cell, releasing their king from his shackles.

I didn't answer. I turned my eyes towards the cell, watching as a couple of the king's men hoisted their ruler's arms over their shoulders and proceeded to walk him out of his prison.

"To the healing room." I heard one of them instruct the other as they made their way out.

The guard that had helped me remained at my side, helping me to my feet once they had gone.

"Thank you for your help. But I must know how you did what you did just now. Humans do not possess the ability to do such magic."

"Do you mind if we just don't talk about that right now?" I breathed. "It's a long story."

The guard stared at me for a moment before nodding.

"Of course."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I contemplated my next move.

"Can you take me to Thor?" I requested, breaking the silence.

"Pardon me?"

"Thor – can you take me to him?" I reiterated.

"I don't know if that is wise." He responded, shaking his head lightly.

"I don't care – I need to speak with him."

"…If you insist." He replied after a moment.

We made our way back to the surface – back to the entrance of the palace where everything had gone silent. This was almost worse than the violent sounds emanating from within earlier. There also was not a soul around us – everyone had left. It was unnerving.

"May I just repeat that this is not a wise decision?" The guard spoke quietly, leaning slightly to the side, in my direction.

"Yeah. I know."

With that I took off, rushing into the palace, into the great hall where the brothers had been fighting. Debris littered the floor, pressing and cutting into my bare feet as I crossed the room. I hardly noticed though, my eyes locked on the exhausted God of Thunder, his hammer placed upon Loki's chest, restraining him. Both of the gods were bloodied and breathing hard – Loki had given Thor more trouble than I had thought.

I reached out a hand, placing it gently on Thor's arm.

"Thor." I spoke softly, pulling his attention away from his younger brother.

"Parker…I am glad you are well." He replied, forcing a smile. "But, I must insist that you leave here. You do not want to see this."

He meant to kill Loki. His brother. The man that he had been raised alongside since they were babies.

No.

As much as he may have deserved it, the thought of this happening turned my stomach. How do you live with yourself after something like that? By telling yourself it was the right thing to do? That you had no choice? Regardless of the answer – would that really heal that wound? As much evil as Loki had done, I highly doubted that slaying a brother would be something that would be easy to come back from, even for the mighty Thor. And then it came to me.

"Thor – no. Don't kill him." I urged.

"You know not of what you speak, Parker. Loki has left me no choice."

"He knows about the Infinity Gauntlet!"

Thor shot a glance my way.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"He tried to get into my head, but it didn't work. I ended up getting into his for a second - and I **know **that he knows what is going on with the Infinity Gauntlet, and where at least a few of the gems are. We could use him." I insisted.

Thor shook his head lightly.

"The last time I let him go free for a similar reason – it did not turn out well." The god grumbled.

"Look, Thor – if you mean to kill him anyway, why not at least try to get some use out of him beforehand? It could really help…"

Thor remained silent for a moment as he considered what I was saying.

"He will not cooperate." Was his response.

"He doesn't have to."

There came a small laugh from the floor, and we turned our eyes to Loki.

"What are you going to do, girl? Get into my head? Please - don't be absurd." He spat.

"Oh no. Not me. I know someone else who can and he is going to want to have words with you."

* * *

**A/N: So I hope this Chapter didn't seem cut too short or like it moved too quickly. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on this part of the story, because it is essentially what takes us into the bigger plot that's going on here. I feel like things would have been taken care of rather quickly once Loki was found out, especially in this instance where he really has no back up. Once Thor shows up and the guards realize what's been going one, I don't think that it would take long for Loki to be brought down and for them to get their real king out of his prison. **

**I know that it would be a tough sell to get Thor to agree to allow Loki to live, and to try to get help from him, especially after Thor TDW, but I don't feel like Thor really WANTS to kill Loki. I imagine he looks at killing Loki somewhat similarly to how Loki looks at killing Parker – in that they do not really have a desire to, but they feel like it is something they have to do. Plus with Thor, I feel like somewhere, buried under all of the anger and such that he hold towards Loki, he still loves him, so there is that part of him that is almost looking for an excuse to ****not**** kill him. **

**And I cannot WAIT to write this next chapter. Loki is going to get an earful, and it's going to be great. Anyway, THANK YOU so much to everyone that reviewed! You are all crazy helpful and I am happy that you are enjoying the story! Again, thank you guys for reviewing and thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the update and please **_**leave a review. **_** You guys are awesome. 'Til next time 3**


	13. Chapter 13

A group of guards marched alongside of us, five on each side, as we made our way down the rainbow bridge. It was much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined – like a long, stretched out slab of crystal with multicolored lights coursing through it. It seemed to continue on and on, but eventually we neared the end – a large, spherical structure stood before us. It was massive and golden with intricate engravings all over the exterior. Everything in this world just reeked of opulence.

The guards halted just outside of the structure, turning to face us. It was a surprise that they had even agreed to escort us out of the city – especially considering the circumstances. Thor had told the men what he intended to do – that he was going to take Loki and me and leave this place. He continued on to say that he would not blame them if they tried to stop him, but warned that they would not be successful. Some of the guards tried to reason with their prince – tried to make him reconsider – but most of them simply turned the other cheek, choosing to neither condone nor condemn Thor for his decision. The small group that had accompanied us to the Bifrost did not necessarily believe that this was the best course of action, but they were willing to trust Thor's judgment. Not only had they agreed to take us to the bridge, but they also supplied us with these bronze colored cuffs that had these runes carved into them which, according to Thor, seals magic – Thor placed these on Loki, who merely scowled at his brother. Thor had insisted that we leave Asgard at once, before his father could stop us – I think he knew that once the Allfather was healed, he would call for Loki's head immediately. Not only that, he knew that Odin had not given him permission to leave for Earth to be with Jane, and perhaps his father would have some anger towards him as well. I kept waiting for more guards to show up and jump us – to try to stop us in the name of their king – or for the guards who walked beside us to change their minds, but it never happened.

We entered the building; a tall, dark-skinned man with vibrant amber eyes stood in the center of the room. He was outfitted in golden armor and held in his hands a large sword. There was something familiar about this man…his eyes, maybe?

"I've been expecting you. It is nice to see you again, sir." Heimdall greeted.

"You as well, Heimdall. Will you open the Bifrost to us?" Thor responded with a small smile.

Heimdall returned the gesture.

"Of course, sir." He turned his gaze to Loki. "Are you sure you want to take him with you?"

"No, but I'm going to anyway."

"Very well." Heimdall lowered his sword into a slot in front of him, like a key into a lock. A loud humming sound echoed through the room as a circular opening began to surge with light.

"Know that I am here should you require my assistance. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor." The gatekeeper offered and we approached the opening.

Thor nodded at the man, thanking him quietly.

"And miss…"

I turned my eyes towards the Asgardian.

"Give your father my regards."

With that we were drawn into space, violently being dragged through a kind of wormhole before being spat out. Thor and Loki managed to land on their feet with grace – not me – I landed flat on my ass. I quickly stood, dusting myself off – there were bits of soil all over my cloths, even a little bit in my hair – and I knew immediately where we were. We stood in an empty field, out in _almost_ the middle of nowhere, right across the road from my parent's home.

The small, blue house – it was a sight for sore eyes.

"This way." I said, motioning towards the house.

We quickly crossed the road, proceeding around to the back of the home, to the sliding glass back door.

I slowly pulled the door open, stepping into the kitchen to see my mother, Robin, sitting at the kitchen table, doing her crossword puzzle for the day.

She looked up, dropping her pen as a relieved smile spread across her face. She stood and stepped around the table, wrapping her arms around me tightly.

"Parker…I was so worried." She whispered softly as she pressed a kiss into the side of my face.

I returned the hug and assured her that I was fine.

She abruptly let go, taking a few quick steps backwards as she stared over my shoulder, wide-eyed.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, turning to follow her gaze.

Of course, Thor and Loki stood behind me. Right.

"Oh yeah, them. That's nothing to worry about, we just – is dad around?" I sputtered.

My mother bobbed her head quickly.

"Yeah – yeah, of course he is." She answered. "Brael, honey! Could you come here please?!"

Moments later, my father walked into the kitchen dressed in a baggy red shirt and some black pajama bottoms – I figured it must be Sunday if he was lounging around the house like that. It tickled me a little on the inside – the great and powerful Lord Brael, enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon in his PJ's.

He looked at me and smiled warmly before noticing the two Asgardian's. He quickly looked them up and down, then ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.

"You know, Parker…"He sighed, "this isn't exactly what I had had in mind…"

"You…you are-"I heard Thor's voice say; I turned to see a mixture of confusion and shock plastered on his face.

"Brael. Yes, it is me." My father finished for him, "It's good to see you again, boys. Wish it was under different circumstances."

An awkward silence fell over us for a few moments before my father spoke again.

"Well, come on then – you both look like piss, let's have a seat." He said, motioning towards the living room.

The two gods filed through the kitchen and into the small room, taking a seat next to each other on the large, brown couch as my father sat in his recliner. I stood next to my mother in the doorway between the two rooms, watching.

"So, what brings you to my home, boys?" My father asked.

"We would ask that you extract some information for us, sir, if you are willing to do so." Thor requested courteously.

"What- from this one?" My father nodded towards Loki.

"Yes, sir." Thor answered humbly.

My father sat back in his chair and turned his gaze towards the raven haired god, who was in turn staring at the carpeting.

"Loki." My father spoke his name softly.

He did not respond.

"Loki…" He tried again, a little more assertively.

Again, the young god did not respond.

"Look at me, boy!" My father barked, causing my mother and me to jump a little.

Loki looked up, locking eyes with my father.

My father's face softened a bit as they simply stared at each other for a couple minutes. Abruptly, Loki turned his face away and my father pursed his lips, nodding softly in understanding. I hadn't even realized what was happening right in front of my face – that had to be the smoothest mind probe ever.

"Could everybody please step into the garage for a bit? I'd like to speak with this one privately." My dad's voice came after a moment.

We all kind of looked at each other for a second before Thor stood.

"Sure thing, honey." My mother started, "Just…don't break anything."

"Robin –"

"I know, I know. Just please – just don't. Ok? Love you."

With that she led Thor and I into the garage, where we waited in silence.

* * *

Everyone had left, leaving the two Asgardian's in silence before Loki spoke for the first time.

"Do you mean to lecture me, old man? To reprimand me like an unruly child?" He inquired contemptuously.

"If you would stop acting like an unruly child then perhaps I wouldn't have to treat you like one."

Loki laughed scornfully.

"I was merely acting upon the lie that I had been fed."

"Which one?" Brael questioned. "The one Odin told you or the one that you've been telling yourself? That you're a monster."

Loki scoffed, looking away from his former mentor.

"It is nonsense, Loki." Brael continued, "And the most pitiful form of cowardice. You feel betrayed because you were told that you're something you're not and you feel angry because what you are is something you cannot accept. And so what do you do? You use it as an excuse for your misdeeds – like it should be expected of you to do such thing. You were such a bright young boy, Loki – what the hell happened? Have too many bouts with Thor made you dim?"

Loki let out a sigh of frustration, turning his eyes up again to meet Brael's gaze as the man proceeded.

"Are you really such a lost child that your only means to identity is through that of your father? Is it truly that important to you? You could be whatever you choose if you would only let go of these venomous convictions of yours."

"I have chosen." Loki commented darkly.

"Not your choice." Brael replied, giving the younger man a knowing look.

Loki turned his eyes back to the carpeting.

"Yes…he's got you by the balls, hasn't he?"

The young god didn't respond.

It remained quiet for a few moments before Brael spoke again.

"Look, we both know what is going on here, but lucky for you _they _don't – not quite, not yet. So I'm going to tell you what you're going to do, understand?"

Loki let out a dry laugh and he rolled his eyes.

"Are you?" He spat.

"Yes, and you're going to listen to me this time, you little shit." Brael growled, grabbing his former pupil by the jaw. "I know everything you know, boy – everything you have done – but I am not going to tell them, because _you _are. You are going to help them, you are going to right that which you have helped set into motion with your foolishness – you are going to redeem yourself. You are going to do this not only because I said so but because I know that buried in that twisted mind of yours is some common sense that stands to say that this situation you've gotten yourself into will prove to be a very, very bad thing. For everyone."

Loki's lips tightened in annoyance, but he nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"Very good." Brael said, releasing his hold on the man.

It was quiet for a moment as Brael turned, taking a couple steps towards the garage.

Then he stopped, looking back at the young man seated on his couch. He couldn't help but feel a little responsible.

"I could see the anger, the jealousy inside of you even when you were a child…I just had hoped it would never come this far. I have taught you everything I know, and for what? For you to use it against your friends? Your family? Against mortals, who could never hope to defend themselves? You are better than that, Loki."

Loki rolled his eyes.

"You are." Brael insisted, "And it's high time you started getting your _fucking_ act together."

* * *

**A/N: I had such a good time writing Brael in this chapter. I love his character. He is fun to write, and while I feel like he is a little mean to Loki, it's more like tough love. He's not happy with Loki's behavior and really probably wants to smack some sense into the kid, but he still is kind enough to present him with one last opportunity to right his wrongs. **

**And hey – you guys got to meet Parker's mother! I feel like Parker probably picked up a lot of her mannerisms from her mom, though both of her parents are fairly odd in their own way. I realized that I totally skipped over her in the first couple chapters so I really wanted to get her in here somewhere. **

**As I said, Loki certainly got an earful this chapter – it's given him a lot to consider, I think. I'm excited for the future, guys – pretty frickin' excited. As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if it's not a hassle **_**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW**_ : )


	14. Chapter 14

"Alright, we're done. You can come on back, now."

Brael stood in the doorway that connected the small house to the garage, motioning for the group that had been waiting there to head inside. Thor led the way, passing by the older man, as Parker and Robin followed, the young woman's arm wrapped around her mother's shoulders. Parker knew that the situation – the enormous mess that it was – could not be easy for her mother to swallow, especially now that she had dragged it into the middle of her living room. She felt a pang of guilt in her chest – if she had tried harder, if she were somehow stronger, then maybe she wouldn't have had to come crawling to daddy for help and her mother wouldn't be pushed into this as well. The last thing she wanted was to cause her parent's any grief and the thought that perhaps she had did not sit well with her, so she clung to her mother, if not for her parent's comfort – for her own.

They made their way through the narrow hallway that led out into the living room where the ink haired god sat still on the sofa, failing to look up to acknowledge the pack as they entered the space again. He did not even blink when Thor sat down beside him, choosing instead to keep his gaze fixed on the wall opposite of him until Parker took the seat across from his, obstructing his view. She offered him a small smile, to which he responded by turning his eyes to the floor.

"_Prick…"_ Parker thought as she frowned. She believed that she had been rather kind to Loki, having stopped Thor from slaying him and having convinced the god of thunder to bring him to Earth for questioning rather than leaving him to the mercy of the Allfather. And what had he done for her? Kidnapped her, threatened her, and clawed through her mind like it was just a bit of fun - and apparently, he couldn't even be bothered to return a fucking smile.

She shifted uneasily in her seat – she did not like having this man near the ones she loved, even with his magic sealed. She could practically feel the resentment radiating off of him and it made her uncomfortable. He was surrounded by people who had opted to give him more chances than what he deserved, and yet that seemed lost on him – like it meant nothing. The only one that was able to make Loki's defiant façade waver was her father, and only just for moment before they were ushered out into the garage.

Brael dropped down into the recliner, folding his hands in his lap as he scanned the faces of those around him. Everybody sat in silence, stealing awkward glances at each other before Brael turned to Thor.

"Well then," Brael spoke, breaking the silence, "You are probably a bit confused, am I right?"

Thor turned his eyes to the man.

"Well…yes," The golden haired god admitted, bobbing his head softly, "Father told us all that you had been slain in battle."

"Oh, well that was nice of him," Brael responded, genuinely appreciative.

Robin reached out and gently swatted her husband on the arm with a huff.

"I'm sitting _right here_," She hissed, clearly insulted although not necessarily upset.

The older man put up his hands in defense and chuckled.

"No, no – I didn't mean it like that, sweetheart. It's just – well it's better than what I had expected him to do."

Robin sat back, crossing her arms and offering her husband a small smile after a moment. The two had an interesting relationship, and it warmed Parker's heart to watch them interact.

Brael turned his attention back to Thor and offered him a grin.

"Twenty-five years ago, I came to Earth and met a woman. I fell in love, but even way back then, your father held a very low opinion of Midgardian's and ordered me to abandon her. I could not do that, not even if I had wanted to, and so I told him no. He banished me and I have been living here ever since. I made that woman my wife and we had our daughter, whom you've met…and that's what really happened."

A tiny smile found its way onto Thor's face and he nodded in understanding, turning his eyes to the old god's wife who sat across from him. She smiled softly and made a small waving gesture with her hand so as to say "Hi".

Thor returned the woman's gesture before returning his attention to her husband.

"Father is rather stuck in his ways - that much I will admit. I am glad that you were able to find happiness."

"Ah – finding it is the easy part, boy. It's being strong enough to accept it and hold onto it once you've found it that's the challenge."

It fell silent for a moment before Brael spoke again.

"I suppose I ought to tell you what I saw floating around in your brother's head then, eh?"

Thor nodded in response. "If you would."

"I didn't see too much, I'm afraid," Brael sighed, "I only caught a couple of things. You recently came into contact with the Aether, correct?"

"That is correct." Thor replied.

"Well, genius over there," Brael motioned towards Loki, "sent it off to an alien named Taneleer Tivan. Fucking basketcase, that one."

"You know him?" Thor questioned.

"I know _of _him. He's only been around for _billions_ of years. He lost his wife a long while back and started collecting things in order to maintain his own sanity."

"And Loki sent the Aether _to_ _him_?"

"Yes. Not particularly a great plan, but I don't suspect that it was really his decision." Brael answered, turning his gaze to Loki.

"If it was not his decision, then whose was it?"

The older man shrugged his shoulders.

"That, I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You're Brae-"

"I know quite well who I am, boy, but I haven't practiced magic in ages, so forgive me if I am a bit rusty."

Thor's lips tightened into a thin line, though he bobbed his head in understanding regardless of his annoyance.

"What about the gauntlet? Did you see anything about that?" Parker piped in.

"Yes. It is still in the weapons vault."

"Are you certain?" Thor asked.

Brael merely nodded.

"I must return to Asgard, then. To ensure that the gauntlet does not fall into enemy hands." Thor stated as he stood, shooting a sideways glance at his brother.

"Don't be silly, Thor – you have work to do. Wasting your talent's babysitting a glorified glove will do no one any good. I will return to Asgard and keep an eye on things myself until your father has regained his strength."

Parker noticed her mother wilt a little, Robin's head hanging as she heard Brael's words. Parker slid over to be closer to her mother, wrapping her arm around the woman's shoulders again to comfort her.

"Dad, everyone there thinks you're dead," Parker stated flatly.

"They're in for a hell of a shock, then, aren't they?"

"Dad."

"It's for the best, chipmunk," Brael insisted, lovingly calling his daughter by her childhood nickname.

Placing a hand gently on his wife's knee, Brael smiled at his wife.

"It will only be for a little while, dear. And it really is for the best."

Robin bobbed her head and turned her eyes up to meet her husbands. She offered him a smile.

"I know."

* * *

The day had nearly gone and it was decided that Thor, Loki, and Parker would stay overnight. Parker wanted very much to get the evil god out of her parent's home, but her father wouldn't take no for an answer.

Brael and Thor sat at the kitchen table exchanging stories and catching up while Parker helped her mother prepare dinner. Once Parker had carefully placed the casserole dish on the center of the rack in the oven, she set the timer and wandered into the living room where Loki sat in the same exact spot that he had been in all day, quiet and unmoving. She stood in the doorway that joined the two rooms for a moment, looking at him as he stared off into space. Why had he been so quiet? It's not like they had taken away his ability to speak. Maybe this was his new way of not cooperating, rather than being a belligerent jerk about it. Maybe he knew that that kind of behavior wouldn't fly with Brael around – either way, Parker was not sure if she should be wary or if she should allow herself to enjoy it.

Something wasn't quite right though – she just knew it - and as much as she didn't want to speak with the mischievous man, she felt compelled to.

Parker crossed the room and took a spot on the loveseat opposite from the couch where Loki sat. She stared at him – he ignored her.

"My father is lying," She stated more than asked, scanning Loki's face for any kind of reaction.

He turned his eyes up to meet hers but remained silent.

"That's fine, you don't need to say anything. Just know that you're not the only one who knows bullshit when they see it."

Loki chuckled lightly at her comment.

"When will we be departing?" He inquired softly, they were the first words she had heard him speak in hours.

"Tomorrow."

"Mm. Having a sleep over, are we?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Thor will take that couch," Parker nodded towards the sofa that Loki was occupying, "and you'll get this one. It pulls out into a small bed. It's not really comfortable but it's better than nothing."

Parker stood when Loki did not say anything more and headed back towards the kitchen – catching what looked almost like a smile cross the god's face out of the corner of her eye.

* * *

Night had set in hours ago and everyone had long since gone to sleep while Parker laid wide-awake in her bed. She could not fall asleep no matter how long she kept her eyes closed or what position she put herself in, so she simply curled up and ran her fingers through Darwin's soft, orange fur. Her parents had agreed to watch him after she had left for London and she was so happy to see him again. The little cat made her feel more at home than almost anything else. He was sleeping soundly next to her head, balled up into an orb of fluff.

"I missed you so much, little guy." Parker whispered, rubbing her finger gently against the feline's cheek as he began to purr.

"Things have gotten kind of crazy lately, I hope mom and dad are taking good care of you," She continued, "…I hope we can go home soon…"

Parker noticed her bedroom door glide open noiselessly out of her peripherals and looked up to see a dark figure approaching. Her breath caught in her chest for a moment before her eyes were able to focus enough on the shadow to determine who or what it was.

Loki.

He crossed the room, casually taking a seat on the floor right next to her bed as he rested his back against the wall.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Parker whispered as she glared at the man.

"I could hear your little…_conversation_, in the next room and I presumed you might appreciate some company that might actually answer you."

"Darwin is wonderful company, thanks."

"Oh, I can imagine," Loki teased.

"Don't shit talk my cat," Parker warned.

"I would never. I'm quite fond of cats, really. They're far more preferable than your kind." He replied, reaching up and running his fingers across the cats back.

"Which kind are you referring to?"

Loki was silent for a moment as he considered his answer.

"Both."

Parker agreed. She had never been too keen on people, even before she began to develop her powers. Everyone had become so ignorant and self-important – she had a few friends but even they weren't all they were cracked up to be.

It was quiet for a few minutes as the two continued to pet the cat.

"What is it that is keeping you awake?" Loki asked suddenly.

"I don't know. You?"

"I suffer from a restless mind, I suppose."

"I'm sure."

Loki turned his gaze to Parker and smirked at her comment. She returned the gesture and for a moment considered the man before her. He was so handsome. And charming, almost.

No.

Parker put an abrupt end to that chain of thought, reminding herself of who she was really speaking to. This was Loki – the guy that had killed all of those people in New York and lord knows how many others. The guy who had thrown his adoptive father into a cell and tortured her as he ripped through her mind trying to find out what she knew.

No, not handsome. Not charming.

"You should really try to get some sleep, we've got stuff to do tomorrow," Parker suggested.

"That'll be quite impossible with that oaf out there."

Parker gave him a confused look.

"Thor is very loud when he sleeps."

She laughed. She couldn't help it.

"He snores?"

"Indeed."

Reaching behind her, Parker grabbed an extra pillow and blanket and dropped them to the floor.

"You are too kind." Loki practically purred. She couldn't really tell whether or not he was being sarcastic.

"Yeah, just remember this whenever you start feeling like you want to do something evil again."

"I will certainly keep it in mind," He assured her as he situated himself.

"Goodnight." She offered as she rolled over, pulling the blankets up around her face.

"Goodnight, Parker."

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, I decided to try to write this chapter not in first person. I don't know if I like it better this way or the way I normally do it. I feel kind of restricted when I am writing in the first person from Parker's POV so I am considering maybe not, but I want to know your thoughts on that. Do you prefer it this way or in the first person through Parker? LET ME KNOW PLEASE! **

**I know not a lot happened in this chapter but I wanted to give Loki and Parker the opportunity to talk like normal for a second, and that's what that last scene is all about. He is trying to be kind of nice because I feel like he is coming to accept his situation and maybe is growing keen on the idea of helping her and Thor, if only to be rid of the other bad guys involved in the mess he's gotten in to. I want them to start NOT hating each other and becoming more comfortable with one another. Also, this is the first time Loki has ever called Parker by her name, so that's exciting = P **

**Anyway, let me know what you think – I feel like writing in this way kind of helps me to explore the story a bit more rather than limiting me solely to Parker and her interpretation of what's going on… I don't know, so give me your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thank you for reading and **_**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW**_


	15. Chapter 15

The pastel blue curtains of Parkers bedroom window billowed as the wind surged in through the small opening she had left the night before, causing a soft whistling sound to emanate through the room. It wasn't particularly loud, but it was enough to wake Loki from his slumber. He peeled his eyes open slowly, taking a moment to absorb his surroundings – he had nearly forgotten where he was. It all came back to him quickly enough, though; that vexatious girl, Thor, Brael…everything. The young god rolled over with a quiet groan; sleeping on the floor had done a number on his back, but he was thankful he was able to get a wink of sleep at all. Perhaps it would have been more comfortable on the couch in the living room, but sharing a room with Thor was something that he had learned as a child was not possible. Not for him, anyway. He wondered for a moment how that woman he was seeing could manage it.

Loki slowly climbed to his feet and scanned the room once more. It was tiny in comparison to his own back in Asgard. He could cross the room in just a few strides. There was a small dresser, a closet that could hardly house the few articles of clothing that occupied it, and her bed which looked as though it could barely accommodate one person comfortably. Loki reasoned that for Parker, being the rather petite girl that she was, it probably suited her just fine.

He noticed that the small woman's blanket had been tossed about in her sleep, leaving the majority of her torso exposed. She wore a sleeveless black shirt, and Loki took notice of the bumps that had appeared on her arms. He approached the sleeping girl, curious for a second as to what would cause her skin to react in such a way.

The wind blew again, violently ripping through the room in a cold burst.

Ah.

He was slightly embarrassed he hadn't picked up on it right away. Of course, the girl was cold. Stretching over cautiously, Loki pulled the window shut. He then reached down and gripped the soft blanket in his hand, taking care to not brush against her waist, and pulled the fabric up and over her abdomen. Quickly pulling his hands away, the god rubbed his fingers together, not entirely sure that he approved of his own actions. The girl was kind, entertaining at times, and he enjoyed looking at her when he could do so unnoticed, but she was largely a nuisance to him. She was awkward and weak and of little use to him now that he had yet again been robbed of his throne, but she had done him a kindness in allowing him to rest in her chamber and so Loki told himself that it was only fitting that he return the favor in some way. Sure, he had told the girl that he would keep her good deed in mind should he feel the urge to commit acts of evil in the future, but he would make no promise to guarantee her safety from him should it come down to it.

Loki's gaze lingered on her for a moment before he crossed the room, stepping out into the hallway. Across the way, Brael's woman was placing folded pieces of clothing into a large bag. She did not notice him and he did not care to speak with her, so he continued down the hall and made his way into the kitchen, where he found Brael standing in front of an appliance that sat atop of the counter. A stream of hot, dark liquid poured down into a glass container, filling the room with a rich aroma.

"G'Morning, Loki," Brael greeted, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly.

"Brael," Loki responded to the man coolly as he took a spot at the kitchen table.

He watched as Brael emptied the dark liquid into two mugs, setting one down in front of him as Brael held the other in his hand. The older man took the seat opposite of him at the table.

"It's not poison, boy. You can drink it."

"What is it?" Loki asked skeptically.

"We call it coffee."

"_We_?"

Brael shot him an unamused look that told Loki that he didn't want to go there. So grudgingly, he let it go.

"Is your woman going somewhere, then?" Loki questioned, changing the subject, "I saw her preparing a bag."

Brael bobbed his head softly as he took a swig from his mug.

"Yeah, she's decided she's going to stay with her sister until I get back."

"Mm."

It fell quiet for a second as they both sipped at their drinks.

"So, Loki…," Brael started, his voice low, "_Where_ did you sleep last night?"

The corners of Loki's lips turned up into a mischievous smile.

"With your daughter," He taunted.

"Don't get cute with me, boy," Brael warned, "What were you doing in there?"

"I can assume that you saw me in her bedchamber, then?"

"Our room is right across the hall," The older man answered.

"Then you saw that I was on the floor, not in bed with her. I merely sought her out for an alternative sleeping arraignment, nothing more."

Brael stared at him for moment before Loki began to feel a prickly feeling engulf his mind. He let out a soft laugh in response.

"I'm not lying."

"You can't blame me for making sure." Brael replied with a smile once he saw that the man was telling the truth.

Silence came again, save for the deep sounds of sleep reverberating from Thor's chest. After a few moments, Brael spoke again.

"I'll be leaving today. This afternoon, actually. Robin's sister, Helen, will be here a little after noon to pick Robin up and after that I'll get going myself…" Brael explained, sounding slightly uncertain.

Loki simply nodded in response as he watched the coffee ripple in his mug.

"Loki, look at me…"Brael requested lowly.

Loki turned his gaze to look at him, a solemn expression painted across his usually tranquil features.

"They are going to need your help. Thor is a good warrior but your enemy will be ready and knocking at the door before he figures out what is happening here, and Parker…," Brael paused for a moment as he thought of his daughter, his only child, "Parker is smart, but she is so far out of her element here, she doesn't stand a chance by herself. You need to tell them what you know, all of it. And see to it that they get where they need to go, understand?"

"I feel like we've been over this…," Loki sighed.

"We have. This is just a reminder. I also have a favor to ask of you."

Loki quirked an eyebrow at his former mentor. What could the old man want from him?

"What?" Loki asked briskly.

"I've not done much in the way of training Parker…hell, I didn't even know she had abilities at all for the longest time. I would ask that you teach her and help her hone her abilities in my absence."

Loki merely stared at the man as he continued.

"Knowing what is coming…she is just so far from ready for it."

"She'll never be ready for it," Loki answered bitterly.

"Don't bullshit me, boy. She is strong and you know it."

"She has the potential to be, yes," Loki conceded, "But, just how do you expect me to teach your child in the art of magic when I cannot wield it, myself?"

"Well I suppose I'll just have to take those damned cuffs off then, won't I?"

Loki grinned.

"What makes you so certain I won't betray them?"

"Because," Brael began, "You would benefit from helping them – you've wanted to be rid of this creature for a while but you could never do it by yourself. You need their help just about as much as they need yours. And because you don't want me to have to come back down here."

Loki let out a puff of air. He knew the old man was right. He had gotten himself mixed up with all sorts of undesirable creatures in his efforts to achieve power, but ironically enough they had ended up turning him into more of a pawn than anything. That didn't sit well with the young god, but he wasn't stupid and he knew he couldn't win that particular fight – not by himself.

"Alright." Loki agreed.

"Come again?"

"I said 'alright', I will teach the girl if I must, so long as you remove these ridiculous contraptions," Loki replied, referring to his cuffs.

A familiar prickling feeling crept into Loki's head again. He merely rolled his eyes.

Brael grinned at him after a moment.

"Very well, then. We have a deal."

* * *

Parker pulled a light sweater she had found in her old dresser over herself, poking her arms and head through their respective openings and smoothing her hands down the front of the garment. It was a rusty pink color with a white anchor emblem – she couldn't remember where she had gotten the sweater from but she loved it for its soft material. She pulled on a pair of black yoga pants and threw her red hair up into a messy bun before turning and gathering the bedding that Loki had left on the floor up into her arms. The items had a woodsy smell to them now – she assumed that that must be what he smelled like. She never really stopped to notice it before, but then again the only opportunities where she had been that close to him had all been him attacking or threatening her. She tossed the bedding into the corner, frowning at herself. Why should she take note of what he smelled like? It was weird. Definitely weird.

She made her way into the living room to see Thor and Loki dressed in human clothing. She stopped for a minute, just staring at the two men before approaching.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Your father conjured us up some Midgardian clothing, so that we might blend in," Thor answered.

"I see."

She had seen Thor in casual clothing back in London, so his change in appearance was not quite as jarring to her as Loki's was. Loki stood in a light, long-sleeved, forest green hoodie and dark jeans – she was so used to seeing him in his Asgardian garb that she found herself staring for a moment before she realized she was acting peculiar and tore her eyes away.

"Well, let's get these off, then." She heard her father's voice say.

She looked over to see Brael remove the first cuff from Loki's wrist. Everything inside of her wanted to scream "What are you doing?!" but she just couldn't. She backed away quickly in attempt to remove herself from the situation as Thor called Mjolnir to him.

"What is this?!" Thor demanded.

"Calm down, Loki and I have an agreement. He is going to help Parker practice her magic and besides, he won't be much good in battle without his abilities." Brael reasoned.

"Trust me, sir, this is NOT wise." Thor insisted.

"I agree!" Parker chirped.

"If there is a problem," Brael started as he removed the second cuff, "I will know it, and I will come deal with it myself. Do I make myself clear?" He gave Loki a warning look as he spoke the last part.

Loki ignored him, conjuring a small flame in the palm of his hand as a grin spread across his face.

"Do I make myself clear, Loki?" Brael barked, bringing Loki's attention back to him.

"Yes. Perfectly."

* * *

Brael stood in the middle of the circular markings that had been imprinted into the soil when Heimdall had sent the three back to Earth. Thor, Loki, and Parker stood just outside of this circle, waiting.

"You boys watch over her for me – If something happens to her, I'll be coming for you," Brael started with a smile, "But really…good luck, all of you."

"You as well," Thor offered.

Brael's smile widened at Thor's words.

"And you –," Brael said, pointing to Loki, "Be good, will you?"

"I'll see what I can do," Loki replied wickedly.

Brael turned his eyes to Parker and beamed at her.

"Chipmunk…"

Parker hurried over to her father, throwing her arms around his midsection. He let out a soft chuckle as he held her to him tightly in return.

"I love you so much." He whispered to his daughter as he kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, too. Be safe…"

With that she backed away, returning to her spot between the two brothers.

"Alright, Heimdall. Let's get this over with, shall we?" Brael called.

A beam of light shot down from the sky, disappearing just as fast as it had come, taking Brael with it.

The group stood in silence for a moment – no one knew quite what to say.

"Well…," Parker started, "Now what?"

* * *

**A/N: Ok, first things first – that first scene. I loved writing it. I feel like Loki is really, really trying to hate Parker. He still looks at her and sees all of her negative qualities, but the good ones are slowly starting to become a little more apparent to him, although the only real attraction there for him right now, I feel, is more of a physical one. But everything else will come in due time : ) **

**I also feel like Parker is kind of conflicted as to how she should approach Loki. She doesn't hate him although she recognizes that he is no good – he makes her uneasy and he's not the kind of person she wants around anyone that she cares about but she doesn't harbor any hostility towards him. I think her attraction to him is also more physical than anything at this point but yeah – real relationships take a little time to build up, though I think there's been little hints of there almost being moments between her and Loki. **

**I had Robin leave the house because, in my mind, she has been with Brael for so long, she is really uncomfortable being without him. And because it would suck to be home all alone for lord knows how long. And Brael : ( It's sad to see him go, but he will be back. He's just gotta go regulate shit up in Asgard for a bit. I think that Brael asking Loki to teach Parker is another way that Brael is attempting to get Loki to take the path of redemption. Sure he asked him to help his brother and Parker save the universe, but maybe this little baby step would help get him going in the right direction? **

**I don't know. I'm rambling. It's been a long day, guys lol. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading, and thank you to all of those who have reviewed! I hope you liked it! And please guys, I seriously THRIVE off of reviews – they make my day, honest. So please, if it's not a hassle, **_**LEAVE A REVIEW **_** : ) **

**3 **


	16. Chapter 16

Parker's small body skidded across the cement floor of the basement, bile gushing up into her throat after a particularly vicious blow to the stomach. This was not what she had anticipated when she learned that she would be receiving training from the God of Mischief. She had expected a few bruises, but she had also expected magic. He hadn't even touched on the subject, asserting that she first had to learn the basics of hand-to-hand combat.

She forced the revolting fluids back down as she placed her bloody, shaking hands on the floor – slowly pushing herself upright. It was to no avail, she had taken too long.

Her vision went dark as she heard a sick popping sound, barely registering the pain as Loki smashed his heel into the side of her skull. She collapsed once again, her face crashing against the floor. She was only out for couple of seconds, stirring at the sound of Thor's powerful voice.

"That is enough, brother," She heard Thor roar.

"_Pathetic_," Loki hissed down at her.

Placing her palms against the ground once more, Parker began to push herself up – blood oozing from between her lips, dripping down onto her fingers below. She nearly had herself in a seated position when she caught a glimpse of him. She pressed her eyes shut.

"_No," _was the only word that entered her mind as she pictured the corner of the room.

When she opened her eyes again she was sitting in the very corner that she had visualized, her back resting against the wall. She had opened her eyes just in time to see the end of Loki's swing – he had meant for another blow to her head. _Asshole_.

Parker sat, her chest heaving as she took note of the profuse amount of blood that was smeared over her body - a wave of nausea washed over her as she realized that it had all come from her. She flicked her eyes upwards to see Loki's green orbs staring back at her from across the room. He looked amused.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would _ever_ figure that out," He sneered.

Parker rolled her eyes.

"Look can we…can we just be done for the day?" She requested weakly.

He crossed the room in a few long strides, crouching down in front of her. His eyes scanned her body carefully, causing Parker to shift around nervously until he finally spoke.

"I suppose it would be for the best. I very much doubt that your father would be too pleased if I killed his little girl."

Parker remained silent, looking the young god up and down. Dark blood had been speckled across his clothing and snow white skin, his knuckles were slightly bruised and caked in the red stuff – she wondered just how much blood she had lost to him this time.

Without another word, Loki stood, and Parker simply watched as he disappeared up the stairs and into her parent's home. She let out a small sigh of relief once he was out of sight, earning a soft chuckle from the God of Thunder.

"My apologies…he can be quite ruthless at times," Thor offered, referring to his brother, as he helped Parker to her feet.

She cringed, her entire body in anguish, as Thor began to walk her towards the steps.

"You didn't really try to stop it," She breathed.

"No," He admitted quietly, "No, I did not."

He gently lifted the small girl into his arms, coming to realize that she would never be able to carry herself up the stairs in her condition. She wrapped her thin arms loosely around his bulky shoulders as he held her to his chest.

"When we were boys," Thor began as he started to climb the staircase, "Our mother would often times watch us during our training. Drove her mad to do so, but she did it regardless, and if she had stopped us every time she had wanted to – well, we would not be as strong as we are now."

"So, you're telling me I just need to toughen up, right?" She asked cynically.

Thor laughed.

"Well, yes. Now – where to?" He asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Bed."

"Of course," He chuckled.

He carried her into her bedroom, taking care to not accidentally bump her into the doorframe or any walls on the way. He lowered and gently dropped her onto the soft surface of her bed.

"Thank you," She said, her voice muffled as she pushed her face into her pillow.

"You're very welcome. Rest well."

She didn't even hear him – she was out like a light.

* * *

Hours passed before Parker woke again – it was dark and the house stood silent save for the distant sound of the television. With great effort, she managed to pull herself out of bed and onto her feet – dragging herself down the hall to see Thor on the couch, swaddled in blankets as he intently watched the show _Supernatural_. He did not notice her and she did not want to disturb him, so she left him be without saying a word.

Eventually, she made her way into the bathroom, quietly shutting the door behind her. She lazily stripped her clothes from her body and stepped into the shower, wincing as she lifted her legs over the side of the tub. The warmth of the water came rolling over her, nearly lulling her back to sleep, but she forced her eyes open – watching the water at her feet turn pink as the blood was rinsed from her skin.

She turned the knob, stopping the shower – the hot water had run out. Grumbling as she pushed back the curtain, she tried stepping out of the shower only to find her other foot slipping on the slick bottom of the tub. She nearly fell, though she managed to catch herself against one of the walls.

"_Son of a bitch,_" She seethed inside of her head.

She heard the doorknob begin to turn and quickly threw the curtain closed.

Someone entered.

"Are you alright?"

That surprised her. She hadn't expected her hear _those_ words fall from _that_ mouth.

"I'm just…I'm just having a little trouble with moving and everything…and it's kind of slippery in here now, so…it's, yeah – I have a problem," She explained, clearly flustered as she ran a hand through her wet hair.

She heard him laugh quietly.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing," She mumbled.

"Now, now. No one likes a poor sport, Parker," Loki's voice ridiculed her from behind the curtain.

"Look, can you just send Thor in? I could really use his help."

He stopped laughing.

"_Thor…"_

He scowled at the thought – he had seen him carry the girl into her bedroom earlier in the day and it irked him, for some reason.

"_Thor, the hero. Thor, the favored…"_

It bothered him more than he cared to admit, that she would request his brother's help, especially considering he was right there and completely capable of doing so himself.

Parker heard rustling coming from the other side of the curtain before Loki's hand poked through with a large, soft towel.

"Cover yourself," He instructed tersely.

She did as she was told, wrapping the towel tightly around her body before pushing back the shower curtain to see Loki standing shirtless in the middle of the bathroom. She tried not to let her eyes wander too much, just taking in quick glimpses of his toned arms and chest.

"Sooo…where's your shirt?" She heard herself ask.

"I was sleeping when I heard you," He explained.

"I didn't think I hit the wall that hard…"

"It wasn't your fall that I heard, child."

"_Oh. Right. Telepathy," _She thought to herself.

"Oh. Right. Telepathy." He mocked, a small grin forming on his face.

"Now, is that secure?" He asked after a moment, pointing towards the towel.

She looked down and grasped at the top of the fabric, where she had tucked it into itself.

She nodded.

"Good."

She nearly gasped as he wrapped an arm around her back, placing the other beneath her legs as he lifted her with ease. She draped her arms around his shoulder, pulling herself closer at the feel of his cool skin. He turned and began to set her down – she whimpered in protest.

"Is there a problem?" The God asked lowly.

"You're cold…it's kind of nice against the bruises."

"Then we'll grab you some ice – now _let go_ of me, woman."

She did as she was told and Loki left. She managed to dress herself again and made her way back into her bedroom without any help.

A little while later, much to her surprise, Loki came to her – with ice.

* * *

Loki had granted Parker a couple days off to recuperate and unsurprisingly, she had spent the majority of those days in bed. He had seen the damage he had done to her tiny body as he helped her out of the shower, and it occurred to him that while he was dealing with the daughter of Brael, he was also dealing with a human – at least, partially.

He had taken to bringing her bags of ice and these small capsules she called _Advil _somewhat regularly, in hopes that it would speed up the healing process or in the least make her more comfortable. Loki was unsure of how he felt about tending to the girl and wondered whether he should bother to do so at all, but every time he considered abandoning her, there came four words.

Those four words – they were the first thought that Loki had pulled from Brael's mind once the man had removed his cuffs and restored his powers to him. They wounded Loki in a way he had thought he had made impossible. They hurt not only because of the memories that they dug up, but because he knew that they were true. Certainly, Brael's words had had some influence on Loki, but it was this thought- this one thought that had done it. That made him, for the first time in a long time, feel something other than voracious rage.

"_You were raised better…"_

* * *

**A/N: Hey, guys! Ok, so the first thing I want to do is to address a couple of comments that I've seen in some of the reviews I've gotten - which, by the way, THANK you very much for reviewing. The first one is in regards to Loki and his internal monologue, and how that man is always like WAYYY ahead of everyone - I know that we don't really spend too much time in Loki's head and that we haven't really touched much on what's going on in there in regards to his preplanning/scheming ways - but just wait, my dears, because there'll be a glimpse of all that soon enough. I think you'll like it - I'm excited to write it, at least. **

**The next one is in regards to how Loki bent to Brael rather quickly. I know, I felt like he kind of gave up a bit easy, too, but considering his situation I don't think he had too much ground to argue. Like, if he really wanted to fight that fight, he definitely would have lost. I would say that Loki was only like...50% (MAYBE) sincere when he agreed to help when Brael initially told him to. Plus, in my mind, although I don't believe I mentioned it, Loki knew that he would benefit from agreeing to help them, and on a deeper level that he probably would have tried to keep pushed down, he looks at Brael and is reminded of Frigga, because Frigga and Brael taught him what he knows, they kind of trained him together. They are the only two people that Loki feels ever cared for him, in a parental kind of way at least. So yeah, I think when Brael asked him to help, Loki said yes, partially because he was considering actually doing it, and partially to benefit himself, but it was when Brael took off his cuffs and Loki was able to hear those words that were in Brael's head that he actually started to think that he would help for real - if only because he hates that he has disgraced his mother, who did indeed raise him better. **

**I hope all that makes at least a little sense and isn't just a jumbled mess of words.  
**

**Also, another comment was made that Brael likely would not have wanted Robin to remain in the house in the event that someone were to come looking for Loki or himself and that was exactly my line of thought when I decided she had to go - I know I didn't explicitly put it in there that that is why she was leaving and I am very glad that you were still able to pick up on that. Sometimes I feel like I leave certain things out that perhaps I shouldn't, but I feel like when you're reading you should be able to fill some things in for yourself, and that if a writer kind of uses baby steps or whatever with you - sometimes it's a little...I dunno - insulting or something? Maybe not, I can't think of the word at the moment, but I just wanted to tell you how happy and relieved it made me that you were able to see past just what was written and into the possible motives of the character, if that makes sense. So thank you :)  
**

**Thank ALL OF YOU, actually - your advice and everything is what helps me improve, and your kind words inspire me to keep on with this - so thank you, thank you, thank you :)  
**

**Anyways, yup - Loki beat Parker to a pulp - I told you it would happen again annnd it did. At least he is helping to take care of her a little, although I feel like he feels a little disgusted with himself for doing it. I get the impression that he has not been a very kind being in a VERY long time and so it probably feels very unnatural to him, but I think there is a small part of him, that is slowly becoming more prominent, that wants to be better. And there is also another part of him, I think, that is starting to kind of like Parker a tiny bit. I think he really enjoys messing with her and appreciates how she responds to him. Don't get me wrong, he still thinks she's this weak, pathetic little half-human menace but she's growing on him a little - kind of like how despite how mean and evil Loki is, he kind of grows on you, right? Yeah.  
**

**Well - I hope you liked this update and thank you very much for reading. And if you don't mind, _PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW :3_**


	17. Chapter 17

"This is stupid…"

"I will not ask you again, Parker. Now, sit up."

Loki gave the woman a warning look from his spot at the end of her small bed, watching her as she begrudgingly pushed herself up into a seated position. He had been a kind teacher thus far – too kind, in his opinion – and he figured that it was high time that she do _something_. He had graciously allowed her two days of rest, and yet the woman still had the audacity to give him such attitude.

"Come closer, child," He beckoned.

Parker shifted, moving herself across the mattress so that she sat directly in front of her instructor. The contusions that besieged her body were still rather nasty, leaving her skin tinged with splotches of deep purple, sickly yellow, and green. Loki cringed internally at the sight of them – perhaps he had gone a touch too far that time.

"_They are but meager scratches compared to what they would do to her…" _He found himself frowning at the thought.

"Why the long face?" He heard her small voice ask. She sounded so innocent, it made his stomach turn.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're pouting," She stated simply.

"I am not…_pouting,_" He didn't like that term – "pouting" – it sounded so childish.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She replied sarcastically, "What would you call it?"

He ignored her, instead holding out his hands with his palms facing upwards.

"Because you are, as of yet, still incapacitated, we will be using an alternative exercise for today. I want you to hover your hands above mine - I will attempt to strike you, and you will try to evade me."

"Red hands?"

"What?" It was all he could think to say.

"Red hands? The slapping game? You're going to try to smack my hands and I have to pull away, right?"

"That is the general concept, yes," He answered.

"Yeah, so…that's red hands…"She responded awkwardly.

He deadpanned at her for a moment, causing the girl to break eye contact. He smiled to himself - he very much liked how easy it was to get under her skin.

"Well, then…shall we begin?" He inquired, nodding towards his hands. She sighed deeply as she placed her hands over top of his, though they did not touch.

_Thwack!_

"OW!"

_Whack!_

"Shit!"

_Thwack!_

"Fuck!" She hissed, pulling her hands away from him.

"Your eloquence is breathtaking."

"Fuck off, you're cheating," She accused as she gingerly rubbed at the back of her hand.

He folded his hands in his lap.

"Proceed."

"What?" She asked.

"Please, explain to me how I am cheating."

"You're in my head. You know when I think that you're going to hit me and when I don't…"

A grin spread across his face.

"What?" She questioned.

"I suspect you may actually be _learning_, Parker. Tell me, how did you know that I was reading your thoughts?"

"Because I could…," She paused for a moment, unsure of how to put it into words, "I could feel you…or whatever."

"Very good… shall we continue?" Loki held out his hands again, waiting.

"Not if you're going to be cheating."

"I prefer the term 'cunning'," He replied.

"You can dress it up however you want – cheating is cheating." Parker retorted.

"I doubt very much that you'll be too terribly concerned with the morality of your actions should they mean the difference between life and death."

"Is that how you justify the things you've done?"

The question caught him slightly off guard. He pulled his hands back, placing them again in his lap. He gazed at her for a moment before he found his words.

"I tend not to dwell on such things, though I suppose that there are some that are simply…unforgivable," He explained quietly.

"Like what?"

"No. We are not having this discussion."

"What? Why?" Parker asked.

"Because I said so."

"_Mommy and Daddy issues, maybe?" _She thought to herself.

"And here I thought we had come to an understanding in regards to that particular subject."

"I didn't say anything," Parker pointed out.

"Not out loud…" The god muttered; the girl swatted at him in frustration.

He caught her hand in his, silently reveling when he heard her breath hitch.

He didn't need his telepathy to know that the girl was attracted to him. Her lingering stares hadn't gone unnoticed, nor had the way she would squirm under his gaze. The trace of pink that would often touch her cheeks in these situations had also become apparent to him rather quickly. She made herself so easy to read, he often wondered if it was, perhaps, on purpose, or if she really was just that inept at lying.

Gently rubbing his thumb across her soft skin, he had to stop himself from chuckling as he watched her force her eyes to the floor. He could hear the chaos going on inside her head – the part of her that wanted him fighting with the part of her that had any sense.

"_This ought to be fun…_" He thought, making a mental note to toy with the issue later.

He released her hand after a long moment, offering her a small grin.

"I suppose that's enough for now."

* * *

"_What the **fuck **was **that**?"_

I cursed myself under my breath as I plunged my hands into the soapy water, scrubbing relentlessly at a white ceramic plate that was caked in..._something_. Chocolate syrup, maybe?

I had taken it upon myself to do some washing up, seeing as the two men of the house were evidently never taught how. In the little while that I had been incapacitated, they had managed to create a mess of the kitchen – mounds of dishes scattered about, wrappers and bags littered the counter tops and kitchen table...it was just..._ugh_.

I had the feeling that it was more Thor's doing than anything else – that man certainly could eat his weight in food – but I really didn't mind doing the housework too much. Whatever I could do to get away from Loki, I would gladly do.

I _**hated **_how easily he could get into my head, it was like nothing was private around him. There was nothing that could cross my mind that could be kept from him – if he wanted in, he was in – it was that simple. I had managed to boot him out _one _time, and I sincerely wished that I could figure out how I had done it. There was no thought process to it that I could recall, it just kind of happened.

It's not like you can always control what pops into your mind, either. And I had tried, I had tried very hard but that smug look that would cross his face told me that I was an open book to him still. If I had a thought, he knew about it before I could even react to it myself.

No matter how hard I tried to hide it - or hide anything, for that matter - my attempts were in vain. I found myself strangely attracted to the God of Mischief, and he knew it.

Of course he _had_ to be handsome, he _had_ to be this eloquent little shit with a velvet-like voice. He was the God of Mischief, the Lord of Lies – and what better way is there to mislead someone than to make them _**want**_ to believe you?

Still, even though I tried to tell myself that is was purely a physical attraction, I couldn't help but find him interesting. It was like watching a car crash, I guess – you know that what you're looking at is terrible and that you shouldn't be doing what you're doing, but you want to know what's going on over there anyway. Loki was a psychopath, a murderer, and just a whole lot of awful. And he didn't even feel bad about it – at least that was how he acted – but I still found myself feeling slightly intrigued by him regardless of all that.

A horrible scraping sound pulled me from my thoughts, causing me the jump a little and drop the dish in my hand into the hot water below. I looked over to see that Thor had taken a seat at the kitchen table, a look of frustration on his face.

Wiping my hands against the front of my sweater, I crossed the room and took the seat opposite of him.

"Hey, guy. Something bothering you?" I asked gently.

Thor let out a sigh and shook his head lightly before responding.

"I've just received word from Jane and Erik...I had asked them,after your father had left,to see if they could find any information on this 'Taneleer Tivan'..."

"And...they didn't find anything?" I guessed.

"No, they did not," He confirmed solemnly.

"Well," I started, "have you even considered the option of maybe talking to Loki about it? He might give us _something_ to work with..."

"Yes...I have spoken with him," Thor admitted, continuing as he noticed the confusion sweep over my face, "We did not intentionally exclude you from the conversation...I just thought you should have your rest. You were in rather bad shape..."

I simply nodded.

"Loki did offer some information, though I feel it would be best to have something more than just his word to go on," Thor reasoned.

Again, I nodded. It made sense – who in their right mind would go on the Liesmith's word alone?

Then again, a lot of things were not making much sense lately – like why would my father lie on behalf of Loki? Especially knowing what he had done. Was he trying to hide something or was there some greater purpose he had for keeping the whole truth from us? It was all just so frustrating and created this ball of dread in the pit of my stomach.

"Well, no one can really blame you for that," I offered with a shrug, "But what else are we supposed to do?"

"Tomorrow morning, I will be heading to New York where I plan to speak with Tony Stark. He has managed to gain access to SHIELD's information at least once in the past, perhaps he can do so again."

"Good idea – if anyone knows anything about this guy, it'd be SHIELD," I replied.

"I certainly hope you are right," Thor sighed, "Now, I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours, but if there is any problem – any problem at all – Heimdall _**will**_ hear you,should you call for him."

"Noted," I responded with a small smile, "Just...your brother is a real piece of work, so please don't be gone for too long."

At that, Thor gave a slight chuckle.

"I promise."

* * *

Night had come and everyone had retired to bed – Thor had opted to take the couch in the living room again, stating that he had a better view of his surroundings from that spot in the house, while Loki took Brael and Robin's bedroom, across from Parker's.

Parker was asleep in her bed when her tiny body began to twitch under the covers, images flashing behind her eyes. Most of them were gone too quickly for her to get a grasp on, but there was one that she saw clearly...

A tall woman with long, golden hair and high cheekbones. She was beautiful, but there was something vile about her. She gave Parker a sinking feeling. This woman, she was evil...

A sharp pain coursed through Parker's skull, causing her to jerk her head to the side as she woke. The last thing she had heard before she regained her consciousness was the sound of a man in pain.

And this man, he sounded familiar...

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! So, this chapter gave me lots of grief. I don't know why, it just gave me hell. I'd sit down to write it, get a little done, and then my mind would totally blank out – even with the outline right in front of my face. There is actually a lot more to the outline that I'm just going to move to the next chapter because otherwise this one would likely be ridiculously long and I don't want to drag you guys through that. **

**I decided to put a first person part for Parker in because it is easier to capture her personality and show you more of what's going through her mind that way, in my opinion anyway. Plus that is the way that I started out with this story, so while I will likely be working more in the third person from here on out, I will still throw in some first person from time to time. **

**So, I really liked writing that first scene with Loki and Parker – I feel like they are starting to get more comfortable with each other and are becoming almost a little playful, but there is still that barrier there where they are trying to not really get too personally involved with each other – at least on Loki's end. Particularly where he is refusing to talk too much about his past and his personal life and junk, it's kind of like he is willing to let himself get a little enjoyment out of her but that is all, he doesn't want to let her in – if he even knows how to do that, that is. Not that Parker really wants him to let her in. I feel like she doesn't have a crush or anything on him, but she does find him attractive and is kind of interested as to what is going on in his head and why he is the way he is. It's not really an interest born out of concern, but just interest for interests sake, if that makes sense. So, they're kind of in this weird spot with each other where they like to look at one another and maybe even chat a little, but they are pretty adamant about keeping a kind of distance between them. I dunno, I'm rambling. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading and _please LEAVE A REVIEW_**


	18. Chapter 18

Parker's thin arms trembled as she pushed herself into a seated position, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She was still for a moment, blinking rapidly as if it would help the room come into focus quicker. It was so dark, she could hardly make out the objects that sat across from her in the small room, and whatever it was that was going on with her head was not helping. She felt dizzy – incredibly dizzy – and no matter how hard she tried to focus her eyes, everything appeared distorted, as if she were looking into a fun-house mirror.

She grimaced as another wave of pain coursed through her mind, bringing with it a disembodied whisper that made her skin crawl. It was the voice of a woman, that much Parker knew, but anything beyond that was lost on her.

"Sitting alone...in the dark...with voices in my head...fantastic," She whispered bitterly, pressing her palms to her temples. She gritted her teeth and let out a small groan as another wave ripped through her brain.

There was something different about this "vision", for lack of a better term – they had never gone on this long before, and they certainly had never been this strong, this unrelenting.

Parker forced herself to her feet and stumbled across the darkened room, nearly falling out into the hallway. She reached out a hand and grasped the door frame, steadying herself as she took in a deep breath. She internally grappled with herself for a moment, deciding whether or not she was making the right call in doing what she was about to do. Yet another sharp stab to her mind left no question that she was.

His name had been the only thought that she could recognize as truly being her own since this had started. **His **name, of all things, had somehow managed to push its way to the front of her mind.

"_Loki..."_

If anyone could make the voices go away; if anyone could make the pain stop...it would be him.

Parker staggered forward, allowing herself to fall against the door across the hall. She reached down, gripping the metal knob for dear life she she pressed her shoulder into the wooden barrier and entered the room.

She let out a soft, painful moan as she felt a particularly harsh jab crash into her mind, again bringing with it a voice, though this time it was much clearer.

"_Remember whom it is you serve..." _She heard a woman hiss condescendingly.

"Who the fuck...," Parker whispered in confusion before a quiet groan from across the room redirected her attention.

She had heard that painful groan before. Just before she woke, in fact.

Her eyes widened as she realized what was taking place.

"It's not me, it's you..."

She quickly crossed the room, swaying as she went, before another sharp pain caused her to collapse onto the bed. Her head collided with his hip, though he did not wake and she could hardly feel the pain over what was going on in her mind. The pain had grown exponentially as she had gotten closer and closer to Loki – she felt as though her entire body was broken, leaving her stranded with her face resting against the god's lower abdomen.

A long moment passed before Parker was able to gather enough strength to reach her hand up and land a few good slaps on Loki's chest.

"Loki," She groaned, "You need to get the fuck up."

He woke, taking in a sharp breath as his entire body went rigid. Shooting upright, his hand quickly found it's way around Parker's throat, dragging her small body upwards towards him, a murderous look upon his face. His hand tightened, slowly squeezing the life out of her as he watched her struggle to break free. Tears rolled down her pretty face as she gasped for breath.

"Loki," She croaked, "Please..."

That voice - her small plea - it caused something to click in his mind. Suddenly, everything came back to him – he was back in the house of Brael, sitting in bed, with his hand...

He abruptly released his hold on her throat and slid his hand up to rest on her cheek as he continued to scan her face.

"Parker..." He whispered as her name came to him. It fell so softly from his lips that the girl didn't even hear it.

He hooked his index finger, gently placing it under her chin as he guided her head back so that he could assess the damage he had done. Bruises were already starting to form where he had pressed his fingers into her soft skin.

Loki let out a sigh as he dropped his hands into his lap, falling back to rest against the wall behind him. He usually would not feel repentant for doing harm upon the girl, but even he had to admit that that had been wholly unwarranted.

He pressed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger as he reflected on what had happened. That insufferable woman - who was she to invade his mind? And how had she done it?

"_Bitch_..." He muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Parker's small voice came, tearing him away from his thoughts.

"Mm. Not you, child," He answered uninterestedly.

She gave him a very confused look.

"I apologize for...grabbing you, Parker. I truly do...I did not intend to harm you," He offered sincerely.

"Well, thanks...it's fine," She started slowly, "But what the hell was _that_?"

"Just a night terror. You needn't worry about it," He explained apathetically before quickly turning the attention away from himself, "But if I may ask - what the hell are you doing, crawling into my bed in the middle of the night dressed like _that_?"

He genuinely just wanted to take the heat off of himself, but despite the terrible night he was having, Loki still couldn't help but to drink in the sight before him once he'd acknowledged it out loud. His eyes descended from the messy bun that sat atop her head, past her collarbone to the oversized white T-shirt that cloaked her upper body. It came to a stop just below her bottom, leaving the majority of her lower half exposed to him. His eyes slowly followed the curve of her legs before he noticed her shift and brought his eyes back to meet hers. Those legs... – uncouth thoughts began to fill his mind as she spoke.

"I was seeing stuff again. I came to see if you could make it stop," She began, "But I think I was just seeing into your head..."

"And what did you see?"

"A woman," She stated simply.

"Ah."

"Are you sure there isn't anything we should be worried about?" Parker questioned, sounding uncertain.

"Quite sure, yes," He answered, "Now, off to bed. We'll resume your training in the morning."

She let out a small, disappointed sigh at his words.

"It's like 3 AM, do we really have to do it in the morning?"

"Bright and early. No whining," He replied lowly before gesturing towards the door, "Off you go."

"Fine," she said with a small laugh as she pushed herself to her feet.

He watched her as she crossed the room, her figure gradually fading into the darkness.

"G'night," He heard her say, pulling the door closed as she stepped out into the hall.

"Good night."

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**A/N: So, I know that this chapter is really short but it gave me one hell of a time. I don't know why I found writing this chapter so difficult, but I did and I'm not sure that I'm 100% on it yet...Grr. Anyway, as I just said, I know this chapter is real short but I think a good bit happened considering that not a lot happened (If that makes sense? Idk). There's some reading between the lines that could be done, I suppose you could say. I think we are starting to get more to the point where Loki and Parker's relationship will really start to begin. Thor's gonna take off for New York for a little bit and so Parker's reaction to being stuck alone with Loki for however many hours will be a fun thing for me to mess with. She's either going to have to try to trust that something awful won't happen or that he won't do something terrible or she's probably gonna end up hiding in her room until Thor comes home – either way I feel like she's gonna be on edge and that second one just isn't gonna fly. Story-wise and I don't think Loki would entertain that bullshit for too long either, anddd I don't think a wooden door is gonna stop him from getting into a room. Whatever, either way, I'm looking forward to writing that bit. **

**Also, a lot of you seem to really like Brael and I want to take a second to thank you for your kind words in regards to him because Brael was like the first character I started working on when I decided I wanted to write this. He is kind of the dad of all dad's, in my mind, and I wrote him more for Loki than for Parker because I really wanted Loki to have one last connection, not only to Asgard, but to Frigga (in a way), and to the person he used to be before he got mixed up in all of the craziness that he is in now. **

**But yeah, Loki's having dirty thoughts in this chapter, but I think he played it off quite well. He made a wise-crack or whatever you wanna call it and sent her off to bed before he could lose his shit. High Five for self control there, sir! Just keep in mind that this story is rated M so eventually, he may not be such a gentleman. And high fives for Parker, too, for saving Loki from his mind-hell and bringing him back to reality! Alright, I've said enough I think. Again, I know this chapter was pretty short and maybe a bit on the "Eh" side, and I apologize, but more is coming soon (I've got three days off from work that I have absolutely nothing else to do with soooo, expect stuff! Better stuff!). I hoped you enjoyed this little update, anyway, and if you did _PLEASE, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW_, A lot of you have and I thank you so much for them, they're such a good motivator! :) **


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